Young Turk: Four Films By Yilmaz Güney
Cleveland Institute of Art | 11141 East Blvd., Cleveland
Yilmaz Güney, Turkey's most famous filmmaker, had a career like no other. Born in 1937 to poor, working class Kurdish parents, he studied law and economics at university but became a writer, then actor, in Turkey's film industry. A gruff-looking tough guy nicknamed "the Ugly King," he appeared in scores of popular revenge melodramas and crime films and soon became the country's most popular movie star. In the mid-1960s he formed a production company and started directing his own features. At first these were pulpy fictions like the potboilers that made him famous, but with the unflinching Hope in 1970, he turned his attention to more serious matters: the plight of Turkey's working poor. This gritty new direction struck another chord with his countrymen, and until his untimely death (from cancer) in 1984 his movies remained angry and socially committed.
A rabble-rouser and troublemaker, Güney was never popular with the Turkish authorities (or censors). He spent much of his later life in jail. He was sent to prison in 1961 for publishing a "communist" novel, in 1972 for harboring anarchists, and in 1974 for murdering a right-wing judge during a drunken brawl. Though Güney claimed he was innocent of this last crime, he was sentenced to 19 years behind bars. Because of his incarceration, Güney only wrote the scripts for many of his later films, giving them (with detailed instructions) to industry friends to direct and complete. The most famous of these was Yol, which won the Palme d'or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Fortunately Güney had escaped from prison in 1981 and fled to France, so he was free to enjoy his ultimate triumph. This two-week series showcases four of the best of Güney's 20+ films as a director or writer. All will show in new 35mm prints from the Yilmaz Güney Foundation.
Fri: 8/19 - 9:20 Pm Hope, Sat 8/20 - 8:50 Pm The Herd, Sun 8/28 - 6:30 Pm, The Poor Ones,Sun 8/28 - 8:05 Pm Yol Call Timothy Harry 216-421-7450 or email tharry@cia.edu
Cleveland Institute of Art | 11141 East Blvd., Cleveland
Yilmaz Güney, Turkey's most famous filmmaker, had a career like no other. Born in 1937 to poor, working class Kurdish parents, he studied law and economics at university but became a writer, then actor, in Turkey's film industry. A gruff-looking tough guy nicknamed "the Ugly King," he appeared in scores of popular revenge melodramas and crime films and soon became the country's most popular movie star. In the mid-1960s he formed a production company and started directing his own features. At first these were pulpy fictions like the potboilers that made him famous, but with the unflinching Hope in 1970, he turned his attention to more serious matters: the plight of Turkey's working poor. This gritty new direction struck another chord with his countrymen, and until his untimely death (from cancer) in 1984 his movies remained angry and socially committed.
A rabble-rouser and troublemaker, Güney was never popular with the Turkish authorities (or censors). He spent much of his later life in jail. He was sent to prison in 1961 for publishing a "communist" novel, in 1972 for harboring anarchists, and in 1974 for murdering a right-wing judge during a drunken brawl. Though Güney claimed he was innocent of this last crime, he was sentenced to 19 years behind bars. Because of his incarceration, Güney only wrote the scripts for many of his later films, giving them (with detailed instructions) to industry friends to direct and complete. The most famous of these was Yol, which won the Palme d'or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Fortunately Güney had escaped from prison in 1981 and fled to France, so he was free to enjoy his ultimate triumph. This two-week series showcases four of the best of Güney's 20+ films as a director or writer. All will show in new 35mm prints from the Yilmaz Güney Foundation.
Fri: 8/19 - 9:20 Pm Hope, Sat 8/20 - 8:50 Pm The Herd, Sun 8/28 - 6:30 Pm, The Poor Ones,Sun 8/28 - 8:05 Pm Yol Call Timothy Harry 216-421-7450 or email tharry@cia.edu
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