DISTANT (Uzak)

New England Premiere

Festivals and Awards:

Grand Jury Prize, and Best Actor Award, Cannes Film Festival
Best Film of the Year, FIPRESCI Grand Prix,  International 
Federation of Film Critics
Premio Trieste 2004 for the best film, Trieste Film Festival, Italy
Estonian Critics' Prize, Black Nights Film Festival
Golden Antigone prize and the Critics' Award in the Mediterranean 
Film Festival, Montpellier
Best Film, Cinemataya Film Festival, India
Best Film, Cinemanila Film Festival, Philippines
Best Director and Best Cinematography, Film Festival of Mexico City
Silver Hugo prize, the 39th Chicago International Film Festival
Best film and Best Director, the 22nd Istanbul Film Festival
Best Film and Best Actor, the 39th Golden Orange Film Festival, 
Antalya, Turkey
Also screened and scheduled to be screened  in many international film festivals. 
It was opened in various cinemas in France in February 2004, and in 
New York on March 12, 2004.
Directed and written by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
 
Cast: Muzaffer Özdemir, Mehmet Emin Toprak, Zuhal Gencer, Nazan Kirilmis, Feridun Koc, Fatma Ceylan, Ebru Ceylan
 
2003, 110 minutes
 
In Turkish with English subtitles  

 

Synopsis:

Mahmut is a relatively successful commercial photographer who has been struggling to come to terms with the growing gap between his artistic ideals and his professional obligations. His demanding workload, coupled with the lingering loss he still feels for his ex-wife (newly married and on the verge of leaving Istanbul for Canada), leaves Mahmut clinging to the melancholic and obsessive routines of his solitary life.

Without warning, Mahmut's distant relative Yusuf arrives in Istanbul determined to find a job aboard a ship so that he may fulfill his dream of traveling around the world. In need of a place to stay as he searches for work, Yusuf imposes himself on Mahmut, who resents the sudden intrusion, but nonetheless feels obliged to help his family. It doesn't take long for Yusuf to discover that the work he is looking for isn't available, but he manages to prolong his stay with Mahmut by formulating stories that would suggest otherwise. His hope waning, Yusuf resorts to spending his days drifting through the streets of Istanbul, slowly coming to the realization that without work he may soon need to return home. As the two men struggle to make a connection, communication is slowly reduced to the bare minimum; and their time together must come to an end.

 

About the Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Nuri Bilge Ceylan was born in  Istanbul, Turkey, 1959. After graduating from Engineering Department of Bosphorus University, he studied film-making for two years at Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul. Nuri Bilge Ceylan started an astonishing career with a few well-noticed and awarded shorts, including Koza (Cocoon, 1995 -- Official Selection in the short film competition of Cannes Film Festival ). His award winning, critically acclaimed feature films Kasaba (The Small Town, 1997 -- Winner of 18 international awards, including Caligari Prize in the 1998 Berlin Film Festival) and Clouds of May were also screened in previous Boston Turkish Film Festivals.

Filmography:
Koza (Cocoon, 1995)
Kasaba (The Small Town, 1997)
Mayis Sikintisi (Clouds of May, 1999)
Uzak (Distant, 2003)

The Lonely Wolf of the Turkish Cinema by Atilla Dorsay

 

In Memoriam: Mehmet Emin Toprak 

Mehmet Emin Toprak, director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's cousin and one of the main actors in all of his films, including Uzak, died in a tragic accident in his home town. He received Best Supporting Actor Award in the Ankara Film Festival shortly before his death.  

Back to the Festival Program