COUNT US IN! SHORTS

Istanbul Modern Cinema starts the New Year with brand new shorts. Free of market conditions, a short film is a format that allows more exploration, and one that can exist as an independent field of research. Future is Short, which will be screened online and free of charge, consists of two sections. The first section is a continuation of the Count Us In! program, and includes 19 short films produced in Turkey last year. In addition to the screenings of these films ranging from 3D animations to documentaries, from experimental films to dramas, the film directors will also be meeting with the audience. The second selection consists of 8 short films that were nominated for the Academy Awards in the Best Animated Feature and Live Action Short Film categories in 2020.

OCTOPUS (AHTAPOT), 2019
Turkey | HDD, Color, 13’ | Turkish
Director: Engin Erden
Cast: Yusuf Bayraktar, Lidya Akkuş

One summer day by the sea, Ece and Efe, two friends aged 8-9, are bored. They decide to catch something big from the sea in order to prove themselves to their elders. A bittersweet childhood story.

MAMAVILLE, 2020
Turkey | HDD, Color, 21’ | Turkish
Director: Irmak Karasu
Cast: Ece Yüksel, Gönül Ürer

The film depicts the daily lives of Ferah and her grandmother who are spending their summer vacation in their beach house. While Ferah spends her days exploring her body and sexuality, her grandmother has settled with old age and stagnation. Starring Ece Yüksel, the film won the Golden Orange for Best Short Film in Antalya this year.

IMPRESSIONS OF A SUMMER (BİR YAZDAN İZLENİMLER), 2020
Turkey | HDD, Color, 12’ | No Dialogue
Director: Ayça Çiftçi

A dreamy journey composed of various frames taken by the seashore including the surface of the sand to the wind of a tree, from sunbathers to people playing in the water. An experimental film that seeks to portray the feeling and rhythm of the summer season in what can be described as a cross between a photograph and an oil painting

RAIN, SNORKEL AND GREEN BEANS (YAĞMUR, ŞNORKEL VE TAZE FASULYE), 2020
Turkey | HDD, Color, 19’ | Turkish
Director: Yavuz Akyıldız
Cast: Şerif Erol, Onurberk Arslanoğlu, Selen Gökçem

A sweet film about the relationship between a 32-year-old son who has decided that he should leave his father's home and a father who does not want him to leave, using theatrical language and a smile..

THE GREAT ISTANBUL DEPRESSION (BÜYÜK İSTANBUL DEPRESYONU), 2020

Turkey, Japan | HDD, Color, 20’ | Turkish
Director: Zeynep Dilan Süren
Cast: Nazlı Bulum, Kübra Balcan, Şebnem Hassanisoughi

An Istanbul summer. Living together, Didem and Ayşe are two friends who are yet to find jobs even though they have graduated from university. The film follows the mental states of these two young women who seem to be stuck both at home and in life. The leading actress and producer of the film is Nazlı Bulum.

AS IF I NEVER EXISTED (EVDE YOK), 2020

Turkey | HDD, Color, 20’ | Turkish
Director: Murat Emir Eren
Cast: Nihan Aker, Emre Yetim

A newly divorced woman is packing up her last remaining belongings and preparing to leave the house. But the ghosts of the past won't let her go easily. It is a movie that depicts the conflict between the house we carry inside ourselves and the houses we live in, and the feeling of loss using the codes of the thriller genre.

DISSONANCE (DİSONANS), 2020

Turkey | HDD, Black - White, 18’ | Turkish
Director: Ramin Matin
Cast: Ezgi Çelik, Deniz Celiloğlu

Esra is a freelance voiceover artist working from home in this film by the director known for his feature length films. Eventually, the sounds of the images she is working on and the sounds in her house start interfering with one another and reality starts transcending the walls of the house.

LÂL, 2020
Turkey | HDD, Color, 15’ | No Dialogue
Director: Gökalp Gönen

The director’s 3D animation film following Avarya, portrays a creature that resembles a mummy. However, the creature must eat one of its own in order to survive. Lal is an arresting, allegoric story about the evolution of these creatures that start multiplying once they discover the right word.

TEMPLE (TAPINAK), 2020

Turkey | HDD, Black - White, 21’ | Turkish
Director: Murat Uğurlu
Cast: Feridun Koç, Furkat Hakimov, Çiğdem Aygün

Mevlüt works as a night watchman at a container park. While he is trying to train a dog left in the park, a tourist group comes for a visit. After his watch that night, the balances in Mevlüt's life will be shifted forever. The film is captivating with its black and white cinematography.

THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS (ALF LEILA WA LEILA), 2020

Turkey | HDD, Color, 18’ | Kurdish
Director: Mahsum Taşkın
Cast: Bartu Osman Tuğral, Hatice Taşkın, Rıdvan Sevim

One day, Seyithan who lives in a small village in Şırnak, comes back home with a bad report card. Will he be a shepherd like his father in the future? When there is a power outage and he cannot watch television, he begins to read the storybook that his teacher gave him. The story will impact him in a way that he never expected.