At the end of a fantastic promotional strategy implemented by BluTV over the past few weeks, the first two episodes of Yesilcam dropped on the platform promptly at 7 pm local Turkish time on April 22. Even though a series for the digital platform, the period piece boasts a rich tapestry of cinematic elements that makes it a visual treat as we get lost in the developing characters. The Story & Characters Semih Ates (Cagatay Ulusoy) is a passionate, creative and upstanding film producer who has recently lost his production company Ates Film to a low life character called Vehbi (Onur Bilge). This fills him with new vigor to produce another film, after a string of box office flops. His office mates at his new company Great Ates Film (Buyuk Ates Film) and supporting team includes womanizing Hakan (Semih's ex-wife Mine's brother, played by Bora Akkas), Mumtaz Bey (Altan Erkekli) who was entrusted with Semih as a teenager, and Nebahat (Nurcan Sirin), the office admin. Semih's ex-wife Mine (Selin Sekerci), with whom the love story is 'complicated' to say the least, is the top billing actress in Yesilcam. She is often paired with Ayhan Isik (a real and famous actor from the Yesilcam era), and Semih knows that with that pair, alongside the famous director Atif Yilmaz (another real life famous personality of the Yesilcam era), Semih can get back into the game with a film, validating his mantra of "I make a film, the sick recovers and the season changes". Detracting his efforts are Reha Esmer (Yetkin Dikinciler), a smooth talking power monger of Yesilcam. He is having a clandestine affair with Mine, and hides his dormant need to dominate Semih, disguising his devious nature under a seemingly benevolent benefactor for Semih, but it is obvious that Semih is aware of the duplicity. He wants to expel Semih from Istanbul and send him off to Adana, perhaps to remove his threat in the film business as well as with Mine, who obviously still carries a torch for Semih, and Semih seems to yearn for her as well. Set within the backdrop of the political unrests of 1964 due to the Cyprus disputes that led to the expulsion of the Greeks from Istanbul, during a time of escalating intolerance for communist beliefs, Semih receives a script called "Two Sisters" from his good friend Turgut (Muhammet Kulu), who is being persecuted for being a communist. Semih falls in love with the script, and simultaneously meets Tulin Saygi, a fresh faced young girl looking to become an actress, and daughter to a social climbing single mother, Adviye (Nilufar Acikalin). He imagines Tulin as one of the leads for the script, with the second sister played by Mine, and signs her on to his company. Tulin has also caught the eye of Izzet Orkan (Ozgur Cevik), a political sympathizer of Adnan Menderes, the Turkish Prime Minister who was tried and hanged after the coup d'etat of 1960. Izzet is recently returned from America and is a sadistic sexual predator who wants to own Tulin. He is also looking to do business with Reha, the two being well matched in their lack of morals. Due to betrayals and politicking behind his back, Vehbi manages to wrest the script away from Semih's company, and Reha manipulates the loss of Tulin in a talent show designed to open doors in Yesilcam for the winner. Through his cleverness, Semih is able to turn the situation around, exposing his optimistic and fair nature, as he tells Tulin that he did it because he didn't want for her to leave. The Review Semih is a man who can discern talent and the soul of a story because of his deep love for cinema and has an admirer in Tulin, who loves Semih's masterpiece "Dovetail Season" (Kirlangic Mevsimi) starring Mine and Ayhan. Depicting a beautiful love story, both Tulin and Semih know the poetic dialogue by heart. "If I wasn't in love with you, my love, then I couldn't even grow up, my love. Falling in love with you was my destiny. Love means to be in love madly but not having each other. It means to be defeated, to be upset and to suffer". It foretells a tragic love story, yet to be seen for which pair within the possible love triangle of Mine, Semih and Tulin. Through such filmic interludes, we get a wonderful character sketch of each of the protagonists, the inner tensions that draw them or repel them to and from each other. With an eye for details, director Cagan Irmak has created visually rich frames that speak its own story, some shots taken from interesting angles almost designed to pique the viewer's interest in the emotions being told by the inanimate objects on screen. In its first two episodes, Yesilcam draws the viewers into the world of cinema from the 1960s. Scriptwriters Levent Centek and Volkan Sumbul have outdone themselves in how they reveal the narrative. Complementing the set design and costumes is the dialogue delivery and language, which seems to have a lyrical tilt that is different from modern day spoken language, paired with staid and stiff sets of gestures that are more archaic than the fluid motions of contemporary societies. Cagatay's Semih Cagatay is fantastic as Semih Ates, showcasing his versatility as an actor once again. Semih is sensual but also energetic, an idealist but also pragmatic, a lover at heart but carries himself with a nonchalance that hides his despair, generous in spirit but steely in his resolve. Within all the contradictions, Semih seems an inspirational character who rouses hope and excellence from those around him, possessing that special magic that threatens the manufactured personas like Reha and Izzet. Cagatay gets to showcase some of his subtle but excellent comic timing, especially in some of the scenes designed to be a bit satirical. He is shown as a guileless character who gets overjoyed with the simplest things, and the scenes between him and Bora are somewhat reminiscent of the camaraderie Cagatay shared with Tamer Olmez in Medcezir. Brothers from a different mother! And as in Medcezir, embedded within some serious themes are threads of comedy that endears the audience to the characters. Fans are rightfully excited about this project and watching Cagatay in this new avatar. In short, Yesilcam is worthy of its hype and we look forward to the unfolding of more layers in the characters and the story. Episode 3 will air on BluTV at 7 pm on April 29, 2021. Article (c) CUNA & mh musings
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The highly anticipated series Yesilcam will be coming to BluTV on April 22, 2021. The platform has shared a number of trailers and teasers, and from all accounts, it seems to be an excellent production that not only captures the cinematic glory of the Yesilcam era of Turkish filmmaking, but also showcases the noteworthy filmmakers of today. Cagan Irmak, who is a highly acclaimed director, is no stranger to paying homage to Yesilcam. He is the director of Unutursam Fisilda, a period piece focusing on the careers of musicians of the era. In a recent interview, Cagatay said of Cagan, "“Cagan is a very successful director who really loves his job, knows the period well, knows its textures, knows the lines between the lines, follows life in every aspect. His observation skills are very impressive." The trailers reveal an intricate look at the world of Yesilcam filmmaking of the 60s, the peak of the industry when 200 - 300 movies were produced in a year, often on a shoe string budget. Artistes flocked to support the growth of the industry, often driven more by an entrepreneurial spirit rather than a sure shot at stardom. Cagatay's Semih Ates is a young filmmaker who grew up in Yesilcam. As Cagatay describes in his interview with GQ Turkey, "It's one colorful world where we will watch how Semih Ateş, who was raised in Yeşilçam as a child, is trying to exist as a producer in Yeşilçam as an adult, his relationships, the balance of power and money, the organic and passionate relationships of the characters with one another and the ongoing story in this context. He himself is also the character that I have enjoyed playing the most to this day, the most colorful and the one that left a mark on me." His ex-wife Mine Cansu played by Selin Sekerci is portrayed as a femme fatale who is the darling of Yesilcam. Tulin Saygi, played by Afra Sarracoglu, comes knocking on the doors of Yesilcam, and is seen to be the fresh new talent that turns heads. Semih falls in love with Tulin, presumably during his journey of re-establishing himself in the industry. The following photos were shared by BluTV, that provide a character sketch for the three main protagonists: And all this will take place against the backdrop of the great political, cultural and social changes Turkey experienced between it's two coup d'etats in 1960 and 1980.
As the Yesilcam movies fell off its beloved perch with the advent of modern programming, it is no wonder that there is so much anticipation for this visually and aurally rich production that is now considered a point of local pride. A series about the lost glory of Turkish films, produced by local filmmakers, for a local streaming platform that is spreading its wings at an unprecedented rate! As Semih Ates says, "Why is the cinema beautiful? Because life is a worthless monotony" ... "I make a movie. The sick recover. The season changes." The series will come with English, Spanish and Arabic subtitles, and it may also get licensed by other major platforms such as Netflix. And we all await this glorious experience with much anticipation. Article (c) CUNA Follow us on Facebook here and be wary of fake pages Today was a Cagatay bonanza for his fans! Netflix Turkey released a video showcasing March arrivals, and the first short clip from the upcoming movie Paper Lives is included. This is the first real look at this role as Mehmet, and looks like it will be heart-touching bond between Mehmet and Ali. We are looking forward to meeting you! Shortly after, BluTV released their second teaser for Yesilcam, which looks like a visually stunning period piece. The transformation of Cagatay from a scruffy garbage collector in Paper Lives to a polished filmmaker in Yesilcam looks just as stunning! Playing to the tune of Get Ready Go by The Flatheads, there is a feel of the swinging 60s, which also coincided with the beginning of political and social upheavals in Turkey. BluTV is obviously putting in a lot of effort into this production, and we hope that the series receives its deserved global recognition. Article (c) CUNA
The trailer for #Yesilcam is here and and it looks fantastic. 'Yesilcam: A Cinema Animal' is the first period drama produced by BluTV, showcasing Turkey of the 1960s, while it follows a film producer who will tell the story of survival in Yesilcam as he experiences the golden age of Turkish cinema. You can find more details on the project here. BluTV released the series' first teaser today. The flamboyant promotion accompanied by Emel Sayın's song "If Dreams Come True", opens the doors to a glorious and nostalgic world while taking the audience to a Yeşilçam movie premiere in the 1960s. In line with the 1960s, Ilknur Sereff, Cagatay's stylist, seems to have done a great job of costuming for the period - old movie charm of the times!! In the series, Cagatay Ulusoy will give life to cinema lover and producer Semih Ateş, who loses everything but is trying to rise from his ashes in Yeşilçam. Cagatay Ulusoy is accompanied by Afra Saracoglu and Selin Sekerci. Afra Saracoglu will portray the young and beautiful Tulin Saygı, who knocks on Yesilcam's door to become a true artiste, and Selin Sekerci will play Mine Cansu, one of Yesilcam's favorite stars. It is produced by Eastern Sunrise Films, and has Sibel Tuna as producer. Written by Levent Cantek and Volkan Sumbul, "Yesilcam: A Cinema Animal" series is directed by Cagan Irmak, who has signed many important films such as "My Father and My Son", "Desolate Man" and "If I Forget". Collected from bluTV with editing by CUNA First teaser of Yesilcam, posted by BluTV Teaser video with English subtitles of the song, "Ruyalar Gercek Olsa"
Translation credit: @cuworldwidefanss | IG In early December, we received confirmation that Cagatay has been offered the lead role in the 2 season X 10-episode per season BluTV production "Yesilcam", to be produced by ES Films. This is the same production company that was leading the Barbaros project Cagatay was to take part in earlier in the year but eventually didn't. Yesilcam Yesilcam (The Green Pine), is to Turkey what Hollywood is to the United States, or Bollywood to India. Supported by state subsidies between the 1950s to the 1980s, an indigenous film industry began to take shape around the Yesilcam Street in Beyoglu, Istanbul. With a rapid increase in filmmakers, cinema ceased to be an elitist activity and spread as a mode of entertainment even in the most remote villages in Anatolia. The period marks an important time in Turkey's cinematic history, with incredible creativity in local productions, with its heydays in the 1960s, producing 200 - 300 films per year, with primary focus on dramas and comedy. In 1966 Turkey was fourth, just behind India, in world film production, with 238 films. Some of the most well-known movies during this time are Susuz Yaz (Dry Summer) which received a Golden Bear Award at Berlin Film Festival in 1964; Sevmek Zamanı (Time to Love); Gurbet Kuşları (Birds of Exile); Haremde Dört Kadın (Four Women in the Harem); Yılanların Öcü (The Revenge of the Snakes); Vesikalı Yarim (My Prostitute Love); Ah Güzel İstanbul (Beautiful Istanbul); and Turist Ömer (Ömer the Tourist). A film festival, which soon became the Oscars of Turkish cinema, started in 1964 to promote Turkish cinema and help gain international recognition. (www,theguideistanbul.com) Many of these movies were "moralistic melodramas focusing on the theme of modernization and the relationships between heterosexual couples from different social and economic classes, which affirmed traditional gender roles and social values against "degenerate" modern lifestyles" (filmreference.com). It is also a time when political films thrived as the 1960 coup allowed leftists to express themselves more freely. Films during this period also touched on the problems of workers and laborers who were facing challenges posed by industrialization, rural-urban migration, and poverty. You can check out this video on the movie Susuz Yaz to better understand the kinds of stories told during that time. The YouTube Channel Green Pine Film has more to explore. 70s - 80s The 70s saw a shift into the fantasy genre when lack of copyright laws and lack of state support gave way to a spate of unauthorized low-budget films that were remakes of all sorts of iconic movies out of Hollywood, including science fiction such as Star Wars, Star Trek, E.T. and more. With shifts towards TV consumption, the film industry died out in the 80s, but the Yesilcam movies are well loved and are still referenced in current dizis and movies. Earlier dismissed as poor filmmaking, the Yesilcam era has since been an area of serious scholarly study, particularly in the context of cultural globalization and creative innovation in filmmaking. This video interview by the Yunus Emre Institute provides an interesting look into the filmmaking from this period. BluTV Series CEO of BluTV, A. Dogan Yalcindag, had mentioned this project in an April press meeting, with the title Yesilcam: Bir Sinema Hayvani (Yesilcam: A Movie Beast) and he explained that the show will go to the 1960s and portray that magical period by focusing on the life of a filmmaker, Semih Ateş, who says “I make a movie, patients get better, the season changes”. He also announced that the scriptwriting phase of the first season was already completed. A recent social media post also confirms this with "...a story of rebirth during the Yesilcam golden age". In an interview with egirism on February 6, Yalcindag mentioned that Yesilcim will drop on the platform in April. Cast Cagatay, the first of the cast members confirmed, will play the role of filmmaker Semih Ates, who is a down and out producer of the Yesilcam era of the 1960s. The story follows his journey of reinventing himself as he finds love. One of his supposed spoken dialogue is, "Sen benim dualarımın arasında ki en güzel dileğimsin Tülin..." -- “You are my best wish among my prayers, Tulin”. Other cast mates, as they are announced are:
Click on their pictures below to see a more detailed bio for each. Selin Kahraman does not have a profile on IMDB yet. The film is planned to be one of BluTV's biggest in-house productions. The scenarists Volkan Sumbul (Icerde) and Levent Cantek (Bozkir on BluTV), had shared their first thoughts after the completed script had been turned in. Yesilcam is directed by Cagan Irmak (Babam Ve Oglum). It promises to provide an incredible insight into Turkish filmmaking and perhaps shed light on how it has shaped cinematic production and consumption in the modern era, while seen through the lens of the protagonist and fictitious filmmaker, Semih Ates. It is written as a drama and NOT an autobiography of known personalities from that time. Recently, industry insider Oya Dogan, founder of www.dizidoktoru.com answered some questions about the project on Instagram live, and she said that the project will start filming on January 10, 2021. We have also learnt that the cast started reading rehearsals from December 30, 2020. Here is a translated version of the short interview with Ms. Dogan. Filming On January 11, the fans got some first glimpses of photoshoots of actors in costume. We saw pictures of Nurcan Sirin and Efe Tuncar, where Nurcan was definitely wearing a period piece. On January 15th, the fans got the first glimpse into the set design through a short clip uploaded by the director, accompanied by a sample of the possible soundtrack or genre of music to be used. It seems colorful and a little whimsical. In addition, we also got a few first pictures from sets, one even shared by Cagatay via his Instagram story. The following photo was shared by Engin Aykanat (Cagatay's manager), leading to confusion about the producers who were previously listed at ES Films. As it turns out, ES Films and Eastern Sunrise Films are both owned by Yusuf Esenkal, and Eastern Sunrise Films just happens to be the Los Angeles based entity. It's still the original team but perhaps a US entity being listed as producer increases opportunities for international distribution once the show has been broadcast. From the photos and clips shared so far, we get the sense of a very clever script which will probably invite a deeper understanding of the dialogue and skits, which at first glance will seem a lot simpler than it is. That is the value of an excellent work of Art - a depth of meaning lies beneath the surface. For a compilation of all the BTS photos and clips shared until February 10, 2021, check out this short video. Author remarks We already know from earlier reports that Cagatay has also been roped in for the lead role in Amazon Prime's Museum of Innocence, an adaptation of the eponymous book by Nobel prize winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. Musuem of Innocence is also set in the cultural backdrop of Istanbul in the 1970s, which may indicate the importance of the overall period, marked by political upheaval, economic and social change, that greatly influenced the arts in the then secular Turkey. There are some suggestions that Cagatay's look from his birthday photo is in preparation for this project, but we await final confirmation of this detail. Fans are beyond excited to see Cagatay back on the screens again, and we remain as excited about all the ways Cagatay continues to grow as an actor. For a first look at the teaser released on February 12, go to our blog post here. Article Copyright (c) CUNA Updated February 15, 2021 Articles referenced for the information: An Offer for Cagatay Ulusoy Yesilcam, The Wild Lo-Fi World of Turkish B Movies Turkish Remakesploitation BluTV Projects Yesilcam Green Pine Cinema 100 Years of Turkish Cinema Levent Cantek Blog Birsen Altuntas Wikipedia IMDB |
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