Emin Alper’s new film makes world premiere

BERLIN

Turkish director Emin Alper’s new film “Kız Kardeşler” (A Tale of Three Sisters), which is competing for the Golden Bear at the 69th Berlin Film Festival, made its world premiere on Feb. 11. 

Before the gala event held in Berlinale Palast, Alper and the film’s actors Cemre Ebüzziya, Ece Yüksel, Helin Kandemir, Kayhan Açıkgöz, Müfit Kayacan and Kubilay Tunçer walked on the red carpet along with the other attendees.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Alper said, “We were here in 2012, too. We received the Caligari Film Prize. Then I was very impressed by Berlin. I always wanted to be here again. Now I am here again; seven years later in 2019, this time we are in the competition. We are very happy.” 

Stating that the late director Seyfi Teoman’s film was in the competition there before his film, Alper said, “He was also the producer of my film ‘Tepenin Ardı’ [Beyond the Hill]. We unfortunately lost him. I wish he could be here with us. We always remember him.” 

Actress Helin Kandemir said that she would watch the film for the first time, and added, “I have not watched the film yet. I wanted to have this excitement in Berlin. It is amazing to be here.”

Actor Müfit Kayacan said that a Turkish film was in the competition after eight years, adding, “The film deserves it. I hope we will win the award.”

At a press conference, speaking about the “A Tale of Three Sisters,” Alper said the film told the story of three sisters from a poor village in Central Anatolia. The girls are given to affluent families as foster children (“besleme” in Turkish) in hope of improving their lives. 

The film is based on the idea of “fostering,” added Alper, who also wrote the script of the film. 

He said that girls living in villages in the past were given to rich families as a kind of servant and that he always found this issue interesting. 

“My main goal is to tell the story of hope; the story of people who seek a better life,” he said, adding that he also wanted to discuss class struggle and gender inequality. 

Alper said he wanted to make an “epic film,” and to do this, he said, he used three sisters, the “Crazy Hatice” character as well as miners and bandits. 

When asked about her role, actress Ebüzziya said her role was not easy but the script was very well-written. 

She said they held rehearsals in order to reflect the relation between sisters. “They grow up in the same house. There are conflicts, love and hate because of their age and their location. We are all experiencing this with our families or our friends. We tried to bring together all these things.” 

The awards of the festival will be announced on Feb. 16.