Acclaimed director, screenwriter, producer and editor Zeki Demirkubuz has earned a huge following in his native Turkey, as well as numerous festival awards abroad, with films like Innocence (shown at the Venice Film Festival in 1997) and The Third Page, screened at Locarno and Rotterdam, while Cannes premiered Fate and The Confession, part of a trilogy known as The Dark Tales (2001-2003). He is known for his sweeping themes covering the full range of human experiences and for the uncompromising independence of his work. In this interview with The Film Verdict, he discusses in detail his most recent film Life (in Turkish, Hayat), which is Turkey’s submission for the International Feature Academy Awards.
THE FILM VERDICT: Life (Hayat) paints a bleak picture of contemporary Turkish society, especially for women. Was this your intended statement with the film?
No, I never think about delivering a message while writing or directing my films. I aim to evoke a sense of reality and make it believable.
TFV: When Riza goes in search of Hicran in Istanbul, what is he hoping for? Revenge? Reconciliation? Understanding?
Riza doesn’t come to Istanbul with a clear or definite purpose. He might have come to confront the unresolved feelings and bitterness of being left behind, or perhaps just to escape boredom or to find a new role for himself. Since I don’t evaluate such situations through a cause-and-effect lens, each viewer can interpret this according to their own personality.
TFV: Riza’s quest reminded me of John Wayne’s character in The Searchers. Is that intentional?
No, it’s not intentional. This is a theme I’ve used in my earlier films and one that I enjoy exploring.
TFV: Life seems to end on an unusually romantic, optimistic twist. Is your message that love and hope are still possible, even in sick societies? Or are you perhaps being ironic?
At first glance, it might seem that way, but upon deeper and more realistic questioning, I don’t think the ending is particularly hopeful. However, based on cinema traditions and clichés, it might be perceived as such. In my view, the ending is neither hopeful nor hopeless but reflects a situation that could frequently happen in my country.
TFV: You have always been a very independent artist, producing, writing, directing, and editing all your own films. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this method?
The advantage is that you can create films that align closely with your moral integrity and authentic vision. The disadvantage is that, just as someone who lives their life with these principles faces challenges, navigating the film industry in this way also comes with many difficulties.
TFV: You were jailed and tortured as a young man for your left-wing views following the military coup of 1980. How much did this experience influence your worldview as a writer and filmmaker?
As in Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground, it allowed me to closely observe and deeply understand people. Beyond that, it didn’t have a significant impact. While I acknowledge that our experiences shape our personal stories and personalities, I believe the determining factor is the individual’s character. Depending on this, the same experiences can lead to different outcomes for different people. My entire life has been a journey of embodying this philosophy.
ZEKI DEMIRKUBUZ’S WORK
Born in Isparta in 1964, Demirbukuz studied Communications at Istanbul University Faculty of Communications before working as assistant director. After making Block-C (C Blok, 1994), his first feature film, he continued to work as an auteur and independent filmmaker, writing his own original screenplays.
His second film, Innocence (Masumiyet, 1997), attracted critical attention at the Venice Film Festival along with The Third Page (Üçüncü Sayfa, 1999), which was screened at several festivals in Turkey and Europe, including Locarno and Rotterdam. Demirkubuz then started to work on his trilogy called “Tales of Darkness.” The first two parts of the trilogy Fate (Yazgi, 2001) and Confession (Itiraf, 2001) were screened at Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2002. The Waiting Room (Bekleme Odasi, 2003) in which Demirkubuz also played the leading role, concluded the trilogy. Destiny (Kader, 2006) was the prequel to Innocence and won the Best Film award at Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. It has been followed by Envy (K?skanmak, 2009), Inside (Yeralti, 2012), Nausea (Bulanti, 2015) and Ember (Kor, 2016).
