During the Göteborg International Film Festival 2009 we look in an eastern direction and focus on the film country Turkey. In the Turkish close up we see 10 new, exciting, Turkish films, counting 2 documentaries and 8 fiction films, ranging from thrillers to action to every day realism to poetic tales and roadmovies. On top of that: a retrospective devoted to Nuri Bilge Ceylan and his work.

Turish film is full of vitality. The country produced the impressive sum of 40 films during the year of 2007. Four films out of the top five are of Turkish origin. The market share of home made films is as high as 32,4 %. Also film makers working in an auteur tradition are moving forwards, which can be seen all over the world on international film festivals. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, today considered among Europe's most interesting directors, was, for instance, one of the competing directors in Cannes, with his Three Monkeys. In addition to Three Monkeys we screen his previous four films in a retrospective.

– I am impressed by the high level of this year’s Turkish focus. And we are happy to be able to offer our audience a chance to get acquainted with the work of Ceylan – an internationally well known and respected director whose films have not yet been screened in Sweden, says Festival Director Marit Kapla.

The films to be screened:

Autumn (Sonbahar) by Özcan Alper

DOT (NOKTA) by Dervis Saim

Havar by Mehmet Güleryüz

Milk (Sut) by Semih Kaplanoglu

My Marlon and Brando (Gitmek) by Huseyin Karabey

On the Way to School by Ôzgûr Dogan

Pandora’s Box (Pandoranin Kutusu) by Yesim Ostaouglu

Summer Book (Tatil kitabi) by Seyfi Teoman

Three Monkeys (Üc maymun) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

What a Beautiful Democracy (Bu ne güzel demokrasi!) by Somnur Vardar

We have previously announced that The Other Side of Istanbul (Das Andere Istanbul) by Döndü Kilic will be screened within the framework of our gay theme.