‘Meeting with Turkish Cinema’ to be held in Paris

ISTANBUL

‘The Bride’ by Ömer Lütfi Akad is among the films to be screened in Paris.

Turkish cinema will go to the French capital with a selection of its most powerful titles.

Hosted by Turkey’s Ambassador to Paris Hakkı Akil and supported by the Turkish Culture Ministry, the “Meeting with Turkish Cinema in Paris” festival will open its curtains on Nov. 28.

Nearly 119 years after the Lumière Brothers’ “Grand Café” screening and on the centennial anniversary of Fuat Uzkınay’s filming of “The Demolition of the Russian Monument at Saint Stefano,” the first Turkish film in 1914, Turkish cinema will greet Parisian film lovers.

The event will demonstrate the diversity of stories in Turkish cinema and emphasize the shared feelings between people of the two countries, where not only cinema but also a zest for life and a taste for culture are appreciated.

The event is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Turkish cinema in 2014 and will continue to be hosted annually.

The list of films to be seen by French audiences at Le Lucernaire in Montparnasse, the heart of Paris, include: “The Bride” (Gelin), by Ömer Lütfi Akad and starring Turkish diva Hülya Koçyiğit; “The Butterfly’s Dream” (Kelebeğin Rüyası), written and directed by Yılmaz Erdoğan; Yavuz Turgul’s unforgettable classic “Muhsin Bey,” comedy virtuoso Cem Yılmaz’s “Coming Soon” (Pek Yakında) and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s 64th Festival de Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep” (Kış Uykusu), starring Haluk Bilginer, Demet Akbağ and Melisa Sözen.

The poster for Meeting with Turkish Cinema in Paris is adorned with the unforgettable sailing scene from “Time to Love,” the philosophical 1965 masterpiece by Turkish director Metin Erksan.

The event will continue until Nov. 30.