Turkish filmmaker: A director should never be sure in shooting

By Zheng Chengqiong
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, December 16, 2018
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As one of the most renowned names in world cinema, Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, whose film "Winter Sleep" won the Cannes Palme d'Or award in 2014, shared his work experiences with young Chinese filmmakers at a masterclass held during the ongoing Hainan International Film Festival in Sanya on Friday.

Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan (R) speaks at a masterclass during the Hainan International Film Festival in Sanya on Dec. 14, 2018. [Photo by Zheng Chengqiong/China.org.cn]

Ceylan, 58, who is also a photographer, screenwriter and actor, said a director should never be sure in the shooting. "If you are sure of yourself, you always say 'good' in the shooting, but in the editing [a shot] may not work."

"You can't shoot very good scenes all the time; so, I prefer keeping it [the filmmaking process] long and decide the final form in editing," Ceylan said, adding that a film's possibilities would be restricted if the shooting time was too short.

Early in his career, Ceylan almost always worked with friends and family. He recalled that his first three films were made with a really tight budget. The first film cost only US$50,000, and the second and third involved spending of US$90,000 each.

"Sometimes I miss those days," he said, "Our crew was very small, which gave me more freedom in a way."

Asked about his collaboration with his wife Erdu, who co-wrote the screenplays for "Three Monkeys", "Once Upon A Time In Anatolia", "Winter Sleep" and this year's "The Wild Pear Tree", Ceylan laughed: "It's very nice; however, at the same time it's difficult. We fight, but they are always good fights, because other people often accepted what I said very easily. She's the best I can find."

Speaking of his latest work, the 188-minute-long "The Wild Pear Tree", the story of a young college graduate considering a career as a teacher in a rural village while also seeking to publish his first book, the director said it had long been his wish to make a film about Turkish youth.

"It includes various values and problems facing young people who live in suburbs of Turkey." said Ceylan.

Ceylan is the first of five film masters scheduled to deliver their masterclass during the Hainan film festival, alongside American actor Johnny Depp, French actresses Isabelle Huppert and Juliette Binoche, as well as the Indian filmmaker and actor Aamir Khan.

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