Rendezvous With Directors 1: Reha Erdem January 24–31, 2013

Istanbul Modern Cinema has prepared a new series of rendezvous hosting directors who stand out for their artistic identity and original approach in Turkey’s present-day film culture. Directors from diverse generations will be invited to the program which focuses on the dynamics of present-day cinema and the directors’ productions from their own standpoint.

The first guest of the series is Reha Erdem, the creative film director who is known for the fresh impetus he has brought to recent Turkish cinema.

Erdem is one of the leading names in new Turkish cinema to have earned the acclaim of film critics both in Turkey and abroad for his unique style starting with his first film Oh, Moon! in 1989. For this first rendezvous of the program, besides six feature films by the director, his unknown shorts will also be screened with special presentations by members of SIYAD (Turkish Film Critics Association). Feature films in the program are Oh, Moon!, A Run for Money, Mommy I’m Scared, Times and Winds, My Only Sunshine, and Kosmos. Cast members who took part in Erdem’s films will also participate in the rendezvous.

“Since his first film Oh, Moon! Reha Erdem has led us movie aficionados to think so much about all the elements of the seventh art that we almost forget to breathe; he has taken this to the heights through often ‘challenging’ moves, has committed himself to knock on the door of ‘realism’ in different ways, and has freed the emotional atmosphere from the clichés that can easily lure the viewer. No doubt Erdem is among the most creative directors of the last two decades in Turkish cinema… These films, which years from now will perhaps be listed among ‘assets that should be placed under protection,’ will not only penetrate into the ‘golden’ pages of Turkish cinema, they will also stand as an example for the world.” – Murat Özer