COLD OF KALANDAR

COLD OF KALANDAR (KALANDAR SOĞUĞU), 2015

Turkey | DCP, Color, 130’ | Turkish

Director:Mustafa Kara

Cast:Haydar Şişman, Nuray Yeşilaraz, Hanife Kara

Cold of Kalandar, Turkey’s official submission for this year’s Academy Awards, is about an impoverished family living in a mountain village in the Black Sea region and their struggle against brutal natural conditions and financial difficulties. Struggling to survive in the mountains with their animals in a makeshift house without electricity, the father of the family, Mehmet, relentlessly looks for mineral reserves in the mountains in the hope of paying off his debts, but to no avail. After repeatedly returning from the mountains empty-handed, he finds a new way that could allow him to make a sum of money at one go. He’s going to train the bull they planned to sell for the Feast of Sacrifice and pay off their debts by winning a prize at the bullfight. Holding a mirror to the fierce struggle between animals, humans, and nature, the film is especially notable for its impressive views of nature and meaningful dialogues.