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Films on this Festival
Mert Guncuer
CV
Mert Güncüer completed his undergraduate education at Bilkent University, Department of Communication-Design. In 2015, he continued his work at “Luksuz Produkcija”, an organization supported by the European Union. Here, he worked with artists from different parts of the world in the genres of short films, video clips and documentaries. In 2019 he finished his masters degree in Başkent University in the department of Radio,Tv and Cinema. In 2021, with the support he received from the Turkish Ministry of Culture, he started working on his first feature-length film called “Çİkizinin İki Tarafı (Together Apart)”. In the same year, he started shooting his other feature-length film, “Bir Sürgünün Not Defteri: Misina” (Notebook of an Exile), a documentary about the life of Fuat Saka. Starting from 2013, he took part in film festivals in Turkey and abroad with his films. His 2020 film Yarın&Yarın (Tomorrow&Tomorrow) was included in the European Film Market, 43rd Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival, Film Market, Turkey Catalog and 77th Cannes Film Festival, Film Market, Turkish Cinema Catalog. In 2020, he was awarded the “Jury Special – Best Cinematography” award by the Europe Film Festival U.K. with his film “Zamansız Zamanlar (Time-less)”.
Interview
First of all, what’s your relationship with the protagonist? Did you know each other
before? Did you only know him as a musician?
Well, actually this is hidden in the film. But I can say that I get to meet with Fuat Saka
in 1999. My mother and his wife Gülsen were roommates back in the 80’s.
How did you manage to get so close to your protagonist and build this relationship? We
see that a large part of the film is shot in his home, and the interviews have an almost
confessional tone – like a relaxed conversation between two friends.
We’ve been seeing each other since 2009 and started working together for Saka’s
music videos from 2016. We shared so much in time both artistically and personal. Our
look and approaches to life itself was also a match. I think that attitude reflected also to
the film itself.
How easy is it today for a filmmaker in Turkey to engage with topics like this today?
It is about if you are with or against the government. If you say things that they don’t
like it was always a problem for the last 23 years. In our case, film includes leftist
movements and topics. This means it is always possible to get into their focus. But of
course, if you have an inclination for limiting yourself according to the government's
interests then it means you’ll have a problem to do your work.
Speaking from the other side of the Aegean, as a filmmaker myself, do you think we need
more stories like this?
If we are talking on behalf of the common ground, I think historically and culturally
we have so much in common both Greece and Türkiye. Recently I watched a beautiful
documentary film called, “Love, Mark and Death” which is about Turkish migrations to
Germany and the life in Germany for those people. However, the thing I didn’t know was
that there was also same kind of migration from Greece to Germany. migration on
behalf of working force. To sum up, we don’t need stories like this, we already have
them! We even have plans to make something on the islands where both cultures
blends.
Is there a message you’d like to share with the audience of the Peloponnese Festival?
Let me give you one key word to start from: solidarity.
Well, each day as an independent filmmaker I understand how solidarity is
important. But it is not just there, we need solidarity in our daily life also. Especially at
times like this, where we need to hold on to each other. So, I find this theme so
valuable. I wish I could be there physically, but I’ll be sharing the same excitement from
the other side of the sea!
Interview by George Eliopoulos
