Turkish film to travel United States festivals

ISTANBUL

The film ‘Present Tense’ tells the story of a lonely and divoced Turkish woman who is trying to escape from her troubles by moving to United States.

Director Belmin Söylemez’s latest film, “Şimdiki Zaman” (Present Tense), is set to make a tour of film festivals across the United States.

The film, which tells the story of a Turkish woman that is trying to make a living as a fortune teller, is being shown in exclusive screenings across the country.

“Present Tense” is currently heading to the Block Museum Cinema in Chicago following screenings at the Wisconsin Film Festival. Söylemez will be on hand to attend a discussion at the Chicago cinema on May 1.

After Chicago, the movie will head to the Los Angeles SEEFest film festival on May 6, when it will be shown at the event’s closing ceremony.

The film will subsequently be shown at the San Francisco Film Festival, where it is a candidate for the Golden Gate award, between May 6 and 9.

The last stop on its North American tour is Pittsburgh, where it will appear at the Silk Screen Festival between May 10 and 19.

Söylemez’s film had its national premiere at the 31st Istanbul Film Festival. Lead actress Sanem Öge won a best actress award in the festival’s national competition for her role as Mina. The jury consisted of writer Murathan Mungan, programmer Dimitris Kerkinos, actress Nazan Kesal, director Yüksel Aksu and producer Alexander Mallet-Guy.

The prize was given to Öge by acclaimed German actor Alexander Fehling, a member of the International Golden Tulip jury, at the closing ceremony of the festival. The movie provided Öge with her first ever lead role in a feature film.

In the film, Mina applies to a fortune-telling café under the pretext that she actually has experience in the field. While she reads the coffee cups of different women, she also tries to determine a life path for herself. Divorced, disconnected from her family and about to be evicted from her flat, she is surrounded with troubles. Mina soon decides to escape to America.