CFI | The Poor Ones

Zavallilar
(The Poor Ones)


dir. Yılmaz Güney & Atif Yılmaz
Turkey  1975
72 minutes
English subtitles
The Way Home: The Films of Turkish Master Yılmaz Güney


Auditorium, Library and Archives Canada
Friday, February 17, 9:00 pm


Three incarcerated men—Abuzar, Arap, and Hacı—are anxious about their release from prison. They have no-where to go and beg to stay in prison at least until spring, where they can bide the winter months with a source of food and a roof over their heads. Arap has been imprisoned after being cheated by his employer, whom he then tried to fight. Hacı found himself in prison after being betrayed by a prostitute with whom he had fallen in love. Abuzar turned to a life of crime after witnessing his mother kill a man to whom she had been sold. Telling their stories, the three men embody social issues in Turkish society.

CFI | Hope

Umut
(Hope)


dir. Yılmaz Güney
Turkey  1970
100 minutes
English subtitles
The Way Home: The Films of Turkish Master Yılmaz Güney


Auditorium, Library and Archives Canada
Friday, February 17, 7:00 pm


When one of his horses is killed in a car collision, cab driver Cabbar must find a way to keep his large family afloat. Illiterate and in debt to many people, the police do not help him seek justice against the car’s driver, and he is plunged into despair until his friend Hasan suggests that they go and find a mythical buried treasure in the desert. Bringing along a preacher for spiritual guidance, the three men journey across the desert to retrieve the treasure—their last remaining hope.

CFI | Yol

Yol
(The Way)


dir. Yılmaz Güney & Serif Gören
Turkey  1982
114 minutes
English subtitles
The Way Home: The Films of Turkish Master Yılmaz Güney


Auditorium, Library and Archives Canada
Thursday, February 16, 7:00 pm


This story tells the stories of five prisoners allowed a week to return home. Seyit Ali must contend with the fact that his wife has been discovered working as a prostitute and her family is holding her for Seyit to perform an honour killing. Thief Mehmet Salih must tell his wife that he abandoned her brother while he was being shot at by the police, much to the ire of his in-laws. Ömer, a man from a border village, has to face the consequences of the rampant smuggling and tensions with the army. In this dramatic tale, tradition is as much of a prison as a jailhouse itself. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.

CFI | Guney Films in Ottawa

The Way Home: The Films of Turkish Master Yılmaz Güney


"One of the most remarkable and important filmmakers in the world today" — J. Hoberman, The Village Voice


A retrospective collection of works from Turkey’s favourite actor-turned-director Yılmaz Güney. His films portray an intimate view into Turkish life and remain a relevant reminder of the Kurdish film industry when it was ruled by its “Ugly King”.


This special series is presented in Ottawa in collaboration with the Turkish Canadian Cultural Association. Special thanks to Erju Ackman, Sertan Gun, and the Republic of Turkey. All films are presented in newly struck 35mm prints provided by the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Culture and Tourism - General Directorate of Copyright and Cinema. 


Born in 1937 in Adana, Turkey, Yılmaz Güney grew up in an impoverished area, surrounded by the working-class labourers. He turned to filmmaking at the age of 21, and after having studied law and economics in university, he worked his way up from screenwriting and assisting other directors to become the most popular actor in Yeşilçam, the Turkish version of Hollywood. Appearing in over 20 movies a year, Turkey fell in love with Güney, entitling him ‘Çirkin Kral’, or “Ugly King” because of his tendency to play rougher, brooding, and more rugged leading roles.


As political and social unrest gripped Turkey in the 1960s, Güney started his own production company—Güney Filmcilik—and became a prolific film director, with over 24 titles in his name. His movies tended to reflect the more realistic and less glamourous aspects of Kurdish life, particularly aggravated from the current state of civil unrest, and was no doubt influenced by his experiences growing up; his fascination with imprisonment was also influenced by the 18 months he spent in jail after publishing what was deemed a “communist” novel in 1961.


Prison became a bigger part of his life after he was arrested for harboring anarchist students in 1972, mid-way through filming 'Zavallilar', and many of his films had to be completed by his closest friends and co-directors while he sent them scripts from prison. Even though he was released in 1974, he was immediately incarcerated again after shooting a judge. However, he managed to escape from prison in 1981, and fled to France.


His films became more widely-known in the Western world after his film 'Yol' won a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1982. His discovery by Western and European audiences allowed his name to remain attached to Turkish cinema, as at that point, the Turkish authorities had essentially outlawed Güney for his various political and social crimes, as well as the critical tone he took towards the way Turkey was run, and any of his writings or films were removed or destroyed.


After completing his final film in 1983, he died of stomach cancer in 1984 in Paris, France. He was 47 years old.

Turkuaz TV Guney Announcement | TIFF Toronto

Yilmaz Guney Tiff Ozel 2012 from Turkuaz TV on Vimeo.