We held a press conference featuring Home from the Competition section today as follows:
■ Date & Time October 25th (Tuesday), from 17:00 @Movie Café
■ Appearance Muzaffer Özdemir (Director/Screenplay), Sadik Incesu (Executive Producer), Serpil Özdemir (Production Designer)

©2011 TIFF

Prior to the Press Conference, on behalf of TIFF, Programing Director Yoshihiko Yatabe expressed his heartfelt sympathies to the victims affected by the earthquake that devastated parts of eastern Turkey on Sunday. Two directors from Turkey are participating at TIFF with Home in the Competition section, and Our Grand Despair in the Winds of Asia-Middle East section. It has been decided that part of the Great East Japan Earthquake fund-raiser “ARIGATO” will be donated to Turkey.

Muzaffer Özdemir, Sadik Incesu, and Serpil Özdemir were first asked to give a few words and their impressions　of Tokyo.

Muzaffer Özdemir (MÖ): I hope that Green Carpet will continue to last longer because it would be a lot more　memorable than just a day on the job.

©2011 TIFF

Sadik Incesu: I first came to Japan with The Small Town* and this is my second visit. Previously I walked the Red Carpet, but this time it’s a Green Carpet, and I hope it remains this color because we love nature. *Received the Tokyo Silver Prize at the 1998 TIFF.

©2011 TIFF

Serpil Özdemir: Greetings to the Japanese people, and let us join hands to save nature.

©2011 TIFF

Q. What are your thoughts or feelings about this film?

MÖ: It may partially come from my pessimistic view of the future, but for a long time I thought that the art of films would end early, but at the same time felt the need to do something with the catastrophes we face. Art is like a magical spell, but this magic cannot make the truth and facts disappear. I thought that my film making would just be a sign of objection or protest, but on the other hand I could have made it a documentary which would have been less influential. I also wanted to include and express the inner poetic side of me. This allowed me to complete the film, and yes, life still goes on. I still do have objections about ongoing things, but I felt that I could rebel by expressing my objections with pleasure of dramatizing this piece. Thus, the art of filmmaking will persevere. If we didn’t have nature’s blessings, we wouldn’t be able to even enjoy a violent film like Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

Q. Has this film been released in Turkey? If so, how was it received?

MÖ: It was screened only once or twice at a film festival under mediocre, substandard circumstances, and faced backlash from the government.

Q. What is your impression of Kanbolat Görkem Arslan who acted the leading role of Doğan?

MÖ: Doğan was based on me when I was young and had similar personalities. I talked with Arslan about this movie from one year prior to the shoot.

Q. This movie is about the woeful destruction of nature, but you seem to refer to art a lot. What is the relationship between nature and art?

MÖ: “Nature is something very pure, it transcends good and evil, nor is it beautiful or ugly. Nature alone exists by itself, and nature does not need art. Art compliments the weakness of a human beings and it compliments what is imperfect.