ÇİRKİN KRAL EFSANESİ

ÇİRKİN KRAL EFSANESİ (THE LEGEND OF THE UGLY KING), 2017
Germany, Austria | DCP, Color, 122’ | Turkish, Kurdish, English, German, French, Spanish
Director:Hüseyin Tabak

Ever since his student years, Hüseyin Tabak had been dreaming of filming a documentary about Yılmaz Güney. Preproduction, filming, and editing took a total of seven years and finally his documentary, The Legend of The Ugly King, is ready. We watch the now legendary artist Yılmaz Güney through archive footage and the director’s candid interviews with Yılmaz Güney’s mother, older sister, daughter, ex-wife Nebahat Çehre, and wife Fatoş Güney, as well as renowned directors and colleagues, including Costa Gavras, Michael Haneke, Yilmaz Atadeniz, and Duygu Sağıroğlu. Bringing to the fore Yılmaz Güney as a screenwriter, director, and actor as well as a revolutionary and activist, the documentary also reflects all aspects of Güney’s personality. A striking life story, The Legend of The Ugly King is an homage to a legend who was as “undaunted” as the meaning of his name in Turkish, writing screenplays even during the years he was in prison, also directing films from prison, and continuing to pursue his passions.