Gulyabani

21st TDF: Greek Premiere

Fethiye Sessiz, a notorious clairvoyant who lived in Izmir during the 70s and 80s, recounts the events of her traumatic experience as a survivor of kidnapping and abuse. An emotional portrait of a restless spirit, which unfolds, little by little, the most violent period in post-Republic Turkey. Through Sessiz’s diary and letters to her estranged son, the documentary explores a memory of the past that meets the future.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Gürcan Keltek

Cinematography: Murat Tuncel, Gürcan Keltek

Editing: Fazilet Onat, Gürcan Keltek

Sound: Gürcan Keltek

Music: Oscillatorial Binnage

Actors: Zeynep Kumral

Production: 29P Films

Producers: Marc van Goethem, Gürcan Keltek

Co-producers: Arda Çiltepe

Format: DCP

Color: Color

Production Country: The Netherlands, Turkey

Production Year: 2018

Duration: 34΄

Contact: Gürcan Keltek, gurcankeltek@gmail.com

Awards/Distinctions: Best International Short – Reykjavik IFF 2018, Special Jury Mention (International Short or Medium-Length Film) – Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) 2018

Gürcan Keltek

Born in Izmir, Gürcan Keltek studied film at Dokuz Eylül University before directing several shorts including Overtime (2012), screened at Visions Du Réel. His medium- length film Colony (2015) was screened at FIDMarseille. His first feature film Meteorlar (2017) won more than twenty awards including First Feature Film Award and Boccolino d’Oro Film Critics’ Award at Locarno Film Festival. It was screened at many international film festivals including Rotterdam, BAFICI, Viennale, Bordeaux, Fajr, Hong Kong and the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Art of the Real. Gulyabani (2018) premiered at Signs of Life of Locarno Festival and was screened at Tate Modern, Reykjavik, Rotterdam, and Viennale. New Dawn Fades, premiering in Locarno International Competition, is his first fiction film.