Sivas (film)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Sivas
Original title Sivas
Country of production Turkey , Germany
Publishing year 2014
length 97 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Kaan Müjdeci
script Kaan Müjdeci
camera Martin Solvang,
Armin Dierolf
cut Yorgos Mavropsardis
occupation

Sivas is a Turkish drama by the German-Turkish director Kaan Müjdeci from 2014. The film was part of the competition for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice Film Festival and won the special prize of the jury . It was the first full-length feature film by the German-Turkish director.

action

The film tells the story of the relationship between the 11-year-old boy Aslan (Dogan Izci) and the fighting dog Sivas. Aslan lives in a small village in the barren Central Anatolian landscape. The film begins with scenes from Aslan's life, which is characterized by conflicts with classmates and the older brother. He has to assert himself against his classmates, who come from socially better off parents and are therefore preferred, and against the parents who have little use for the rebellious ideas of the adolescent.

The school performance this year should be a performance of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Ayşe (Ezgi Ergin), a girl who likes Aslan, is supposed to play the princess and Aslan's friend and rival Osman (Furkan Uyar), son of the mayor, is supposed to play the prince. Aslan is jealous. He would have loved to play the role of the prince to get closer to Ayşe and to impress her. He tries to convince the teacher that he can play the prince, but the teacher refuses. The boy doesn't want to accept that.

In a remote place, the men of the village gather for an illegal dog fight - one of the few changes in the rough everyday life of the men. Aslan comes by and sees a dog badly wounded and lying there. Because the men believe the dog is dead, it is left behind. Aslan stays with the dog and when he touches it with a stick, he realizes that the animal is not dead. He asks his brother Şahin to help him bring the dog home. But the brother refuses and so Aslan stays with Sivas until dark. He tries to approach the dog and warm him with his jacket. Finally, Aslan's brother Şahin comes back in the dark and takes them with him. Aslan succeeds in convincing the family to keep the dog and names it Sivas after the nearest larger town .

Aslan takes care of Sivas and helps him recover. He proudly shows the dog to his friends and also tries to impress Ayşe, who hardly cares. Aslan does not want the dog to fight when Ayşe asked, but an encounter with the dog of a classmate leads to a fight, which Sivas wins. Aslan gains respect and prestige in the village.

When Aslan comes home one day, Sivas is chained up. The poor farming family wants to sell the valuable dog. Aslan gets angry. Spurred on by the former owner and village chief, Aslan Sivas is training again. The villagers ask Aslan to send the dog to the illegal championship. Aslan agrees and Sivas wins.

On the way home, Aslan explains that the dog will never fight again. He is told that Sivas was born to fight and therefore must fight.

production

The scenes were recreated using special camera work, sound recordings of real dog fights and film blood. The animals' teeth were treated with a lotion and tranquilizers that made the dogs slow and safe. The fight scenes were carefully choreographed. No dog was injured, said the director. The dog belongs to the breed of Kangals .

For the main actor, director Müjdeci cast more than a thousand boys and only three days before shooting started, he decided on Doğan İzci, who had no previous film experience.

reception

Sivas received largely positive reviews from the critics. Above all, the performance of the main actor and the realistic style of the director were praised. However, the uncritical handling of dog fights caused displeasure among the audience at the Venice Film Festival.

The taz praises “Sivas” as a “great film about human nature and the obstinacy that goes beyond it” and says: “Aslan and his dog (both actors, Doğan İzci and Çakır, are rightly equal in the credits also because of their friendship they are not above the conditions for which the fighting of the dogs is the symbol. "

Deutschlandfunk Kultur praises the "unusual tension" and the appeal that arises from the ambivalence that Aslan lives in an authoritarian and harsh world, but does not want to rebel against it, but wants to belong to it.

For Dietmar Dath , Sivas is a “cinematic wonder” and a “mighty slush and dirt meadow cinema panel painting” in the FAZ.

Awards

The film won the special jury award at the 71st Venice Film Festival in 2014. The film was also selected for an Oscar as Turkish entry for best foreign language film , but was not nominated. In addition, Sivas was nominated for best foreign language film at the Golden Globes in 2016.

At the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, lead actor Doğan İzci won the award for best actor in the New Horizons competition . İzci was also named Best Actor at the Angers European First Film Festival . At the film festival in Antalya the main actor won the Behlül Dal Special Jury Award and Yorgos Mavropsaridis the prize for the best film editing. The film also won the special jury award. Director Kaan Müjdeci won the FIPRESCI prize at the Dhaka International Film Festival . At the Manaki Brothers Film Festival in 2015, Sivas received the award for best film.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Sivas . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , October 2015 (PDF; test number: 154 745 K).
  2. ↑ a b Matthew Grobar: Turkey's Oscar Entry 'Sivas' Tells The Touching Story About A Boy And His Fighting Dog . 2015.
  3. ↑ a b Film by Turkish director causes stir at Venice festival , Daily Sabah, December 6, 2014
  4. ↑ A Curious Marauder , Die Tageszeitung , December 2, 2015
  5. ↑ Claim in a men's world , Deutschlandfunk Kultur, December 2, 2015
  6. ↑ Bitten by angry beauty , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , December 2, 2015
  7. ↑ a b Foreign Film Submission 2015: Sivas (Turkey) , Golden Globes, December 4, 2015
  8. ↑ 'Sivas' named Turkey's Oscar entry , Today's Zaman, September 15, 2015
  9. ↑ Nick Holdsworth: Oscars: Turkey Selects 'Sivas' for Foreign-Language Category , The Hollywood Reporter , September 17, 2015
  10. ↑ Awards 2016 , FIPRESCI, accessed April 12, 2018
  11. ↑ Mujdeci: I am happy to have won an Award at the world-renowned festival Manaki Brothers , 38th Manaki Brothers Film Festival, accessed on April 12, 2018