The best things in life are free. Hot off the heels of a San Francisco festival, the Fourth Annual Turkish Film Festival returns to Miami for its fourth year.
All screenings are at the Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. Screening dates are Tuesday, Sept. 23 to Thursday, Sept. 25. Admission is free.
A reception at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday opens the festival, then at 7:30 p.m. is the screening of Only You (Sadece Sen), the love story of Hazal, a visually disabled woman (Becim Bligin) and Ali (Ibrahim Celikkol), a former boxer. Fate united them in love, but in an unexpected twist, the dark past of Ali reveals a truth that connects them in a deeper way. The film is directed by Hakan Yonat. The movie will also be shown on Thursday at 9 p.m. on the closing night of the festival. (Running time: 105 minutes).
Love Me.
On Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., will be Love Me (Sev Beni), co-directed by Marina Gorbach and Mehmet Bahadie Er. It’s described as an "idiosyncratic comedy-drama sprinkled with hilarious notes of cultural clashes and endearing displays of kindness that will warm audience’s hearts in the most unexpected way." Sasha (Viktoria Spesivtseva) is an attractive Ukrainian woman who meets Cemal (Ushan Cakir), a young Turkish man, who is betrothed by his family to a girl he’s never seen. There is a language barrier between them, but chemistry, too. (Running time: 90 minutes). At 9 p.m., the festival will feature Oh Brother (Vay Arkadas), directed by Kemal Uzun, a hilarious comedy adventure about three friends who attempt to turn their lives around only to find themselves in a whole heap of trouble. For years, Manik (Ali Atay), Tik (Firat Tanis) and Dildo (Mete Horozoglu) have financed their hedonistic lifestyle by stealing cars. At first, their attempt to live on the straight and narrow seems to be going well, until setting out to find cash legitimately proves challenging. (Running time: 100 minutes).
My World.
Closing the festival is a screening of My World (Beynim Dunyam) at 7 p.m. Directed by Ugur Yucel, My World is inspirational drama about a devoted teacher in 1950s on the island of Buyukada who helps a deaf and blind girl named Ela (Beren Saat) cope with life and her disabilities. As the girl grows older, life’s twists andturns will transform the student into the teacher.
Oh Brother.
"Much like Turkey is the bridge between Europe and Asia, we feel that Miami is the bridge between the Americas and therefore the perfect place to catapult Turkish film to the continent," says Pamir Demirtas, the founder of Pinema Films and executive director of the Turkish Film Festivals USA. Regarding offering the festival free to the public in Miami, Demirtas says: "Because the mission of the Turkish Film Festival is to showcase Turkish cinema and culture to the world, we want to make them accessible to everyone. We are very happy to be back in Miami for a 4th edition."
Only You.
In addition to the lineup of films, attending the festival will be Vice-Minister Culture of Culture and Tourism, Celin Abdurrahman, who will be joined by widely renowned actor Ibrahim Celikkol and Producer Murat Tokat from the opening film: Only You. From My World, the festival welcomes actor Beren Sarat.
The Turkish Film Festival is made possible with the support of the Republic of Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Vice-minister Dr. Abdurrahman Celik, Pinema and Turkish Film Festivals USA.
For more information on screening times and how to get tickets visit:
http://turkishfilmfestivals-usa.com
