Zephyr, New Turkish Cinema. (Friday, Mar 9, 2012) :: Beirut.com

11-year-old Zephyr spends her summer at her grandparents’ country home on the foothills of Turkey’s Eastern Black Sea Mountains. She roams around carefree and helps her grandparents with daily chores. All the while she deeply longs for her mother, Ay, and hopes that she will soon come to take her home. She often climbs up a nearby hilltop, hoping to watch her arrive. As days pass, Zephyr adjusts better to the country life and befriends neighborhood kids, with whom she plays outdoor games and explores the environment. One day, the neighbor Havva’s cow Nergis gets lost in the mist. Everyone searches for the cow up and down the forest in vain.

The Metropolis Association and the Izmir Cinema Association, in partnership with the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon, are glad to present the 2nd edition of the cycle New Turkish Cinema. 12 films of different genres will be screened at Metropolis Empire Sofil between the 5th and the 11th of March 2012, including a special selection of the reclaimed director Fatih Akin.

The festival will be opened with Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s film Once upon a time in Anatolia (winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival in 2011). The audience will also have the chance to see the latest film of Tyfun Piselimoglu Hair, as well as the favorites of the Turkish film festival such as What Remains by Cigdem Vitrinel, Zephyr by Belma Bas and Cosmos by Reha Erdem. In addition to this, the cycle will present the debut film of Seren Yuce Majority (winner of the Lion of the Future, Venice Film Festival 2010).

A special selection of the reclaimed director Fatih Akin will be selected: the romantic comedy In July (2000), the awarded Torino (2002), the reclaimed Head-On (winner of the Golden Bear, Berlin Film Festival 2004) and the documentary Crossing the Bridge: the Sound of Istanbul (2005).

A large number of guests will honor this edition of New Turkish Cinema with their presence: the well-known Turkish film producer Zeynep Ozbatur, the filmmakers Umit Unal, Tayfun Pirselimoglu, Belma Bes and others.