Cappadocia becomes set for fanstastic children’s fiction

NEVŞEHIR - Anatolia News Agency

With a budget of 7 million Turkish Liras, the film’s cast also consists of Serra Yılmaz, Gürkan Uygun, Okan Yalabık, Mete Horozoğlu and Engin Akyürek. The director of the film is German Verena S. Freytag. AA photo

Turkey’s first ever fantasy children’s film will begin filming on Aug. 27 in Göreme, in the Cappadocia region, famous for its fairy chimneys. “Hittitia: The Secret of the Medallion” describes the adventures of three siblings, looking for their mother in a fantastic world called “Hittitia.”

Both Turkish and German actors will star in the film. Among them are one of the best known actors in Germany, Bruno Eyron, and Turkish child star Emir Berke Zincidi, who is known for his role in famous Turkish T.V. drama “Öyle Bir Zaman Geçer Ki” (Time Goes By).

With a budget of 7 million Turkish Liras, the film’s cast also consists of Serra Yılmaz, Gürkan Uygun, Avni Yalçın, Uğurkan Erez, Okan Yalabık, Mete Horozoğlu and Engin Akyürek. The director of the film is German Verena S. Freytag, and the operative producers are Cengiz Deveci and Berkan Zincidi. Producer Zincidi has announced that the film will be a fantastic story full of heroism, with the mother in the film trying to protect her children from evil powers. The movie has a distinctive style, which has not been seen on the silver screen before, Zincidi said. “Turkey will have heroes unique to itself. With the magnificent spectacle of Cappadocia, children will love the story, and it is the kind of film that children will be able to perceive easily. There are not many children’s films or T.V. series in Turkey, so this is a new approach in the Turkish cinema sector. We are expecting to export the film too.”

Zincidi pointed out that “Hittitia: The Secret of the Medallion” would be the first film in a trilogy, with another two films set to be released in due course. “The film will be released in February and will come out in many countries in Europe. We invite children to the film, they will love it, our scenario is adventurous.” The actor Gürkan Uygun said many effects and animation techniques would be used in the film. “Cappadocia is like a plateau. It has a suitable character for our story. I am playing a bad hero, a hybrid combination of human and snake. This is the first fantastic film I will ever have acted in,” Uygun said.

Another performer, Serra Yılmaz, said such films were important for the Turkish cinema industry. “These kinds of films should continue with weekend children’s screenings at 11 a.m. at cinemas in Istanbul. Turkey needs children’s theatre and children’s films.”

German actor Bruno Elroy said he had never been to Cappadocia before and added that it was wonderful to meet children through cinema. Elroy’s role in the film is rather simple, as he only has to search for his wife in the film, he said. The child performer Emir Berke Zincidi, starring as Alaz, said: “It is fantastic film and full of heroism. I am the hero, one of three siblings. We are going to try to save our mother from the evil powers. The film is better than Harry Potter. We will see.”

About the film

“Hittitia: The Secret of the Medallion” is about a family, an archeologist father (Bruno Eyron), children Alaz (Emir Berke Zincidi), Nehir (Nehir Çağlayan) and Yaman (Egemen Zincidi), and their mother “Asya,” who has supernatural powers. After their mother dies, the children refuse to believe in their mother’s death, and so begin to look for her in a parallel universe called “Hittitia.”