MY MARLON AND BRANDO
(Gitmek)
Turkey, feature, 2008; 93 min
In Turkish, Kurdish, English and Farsi with English sub-titles

Director: Hüseyin Karabey
Screenwriters: Hüseyin Karabey and Ayça Damgaci
Producers: Hüseyin Karabey, Lucinda Englehart and Sophie Lorant
Co-Producers: Jeroen Beker, Frans van Gestel, Dennis Tal and Harry Sutherland
Executive Producer: Lucinda Englehart
Production Companies: A-si Film Yapim, Motel Films, Spier Films, Mechant Loup Prods., Ajans 21
Camera: A. Emre Tanyildiz
Editors: Mary Stephen
Music: Kemal S. Gurel, Huseyin Yildiz and Erdal Guney
Cast: Ayça Damgaci, Hama Ali Khan, Volga Sorgu Tekinoglu

Synopsis
In this unusual, poetic docudrama, Turkish actress Ayça Damgaci plays herself in a story about her long-distance, multicultural love affair with Kurdish actor Hama Ali Khan. After meeting on a movie set in western Turkey, where they fell in love, the two return to their homes —plying one another with heartfelt videos and passionate letters in English, their only shared language. It is from her paeans that the film takes its name, as she compares him to people and things that move her. The couple endures their separation for eighteen months, but when the United States prepares to invade Baghdad, Ayça becomes increasingly frustrated by the cultural and geographic barriers between them. Though frightened by the imminent bombing of Iraq, Ayça decides to undertake the harrowing journey to be with Hama, crossing one border after another as she swims against the tide of refugees fleeing the war.

As he alternates between scenes of their separation and her subsequent trek, director Hüseyin Karabey (usually known for documentaries about the Middle East) shows his deft skill in capturing ethnographic details and the spectacular but dangerous landscapes of Kurdistan. The film’s music uses melodies from the various nations that Ayça visits on her journey, including the unmistakable, riveting voice of Kurdish singer Aynur Dogan, in ways that often increase the sense of melancholic longing. At the heart of the film are the couple’s exchanges, which are all the more artful and poignant for their sometime clumsiness that goes against the standards of Hollywood romances, lending the movie an emotional heft beyond its true-to-life premise.

Awards
“Best New Narrative Filmmaker” award at Tribeca Film Festival, 2008
“ Best Actress” award (Ayça Damgaci) at Istanbul Film Festival, 2008
“ FIPRESCI” award at Jerusalem Film Festival, 2008
“ Best Actress” award (Ayça Damgaci) at Sarajevo Film Festival, 2008
“ Best Asian-Middle Eastern” award at Tokyo International Film Festival, 2008
“ Best Supporting Actor” award (Volga Sorgu Tekinoglu) at Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, 2008

Festivals:
2008 Tribeca Film Festival
2008 Istanbul Film Festival
2008 Jerusalem Film Festival
2008 Sarajevo Film Festival
2008 Tokyo International Film Festival
2008 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival
2008 Rotterdam Film Festival

Director Hüseyin Karabey
Hüseyin Karabey was born in Istanbul in 1970. He studied in the department of Cinema and Television at Marmara University and is regarded as one of the new directing talents in Turkey’s growing independent film scene. His previous work includes Boran, a short film that explores the disappearance of 5,000 Turkish political activists in the 1990s by bringing together factual and dramatic elements, and the feature-length docudrama Silent Death. His documentary A Breath With Pina Bausch features an exclusive look at Pina Bausch, the world-famous German choreographer. His films have received numerous awards and have screened at many international film festivals. In addition to his filmmaking, Karabey also lectures at universities and cultural organizations in Turkey. My Marlon and Brando is his first feature.

Select Filmography:
I cheated heated death at the meeting point (Ölümü Ektim Randevu Yerinde), 2006
A breath with Pina Bausch (Pina Bausch'la Bir Nefes), 2004
Silent death (Sessiz Ölüm), 2001
Boran, 1999
Streets and their loss (Sokaklar ve Kayiplari), 1998
Etruch camp (Etrus Kampi), 1996

DVD Source:
Lucinda Englehart, Producer
lucinda@spierfilms.com