English Newsletter
ARRI Film & TV Newsletter 16/10

Esteemed clients, dear friends of ARRI,
 

Enclosed, please find the most recent edition of the ARRI Film & TV newsletter. The occasion is the theatrical release of Bal, the third and final installment of the Yusuf Trilogy from the successful writer, director, producer Semih Kaplanoglu.
 

Enjoy the read!
 

All the best from Munich,
Angela Reedwisch und Walter Brus

OPENING IN GERMAN THEATERS: SEPTEMBER 9, 2010: BAL (HONEY)

Winner of the Golden Bear at the 60. Berlinale 2010   Director: Semih Kaplanoglu Screenplay: Semih Kaplanoglu DoP: Baris Özbicer Editor: Ayhan Ergürsel Production Company: Kaplan Film Yapim, Heimatfilm GmbH & Co. KG Distributor: Piffl Medien

Bal is a co-production of the Kaplan Film Yapim in Turkey and Heimatfilm GmbH + Co KG, in Germany. The responsible co-producers are Johannes Rexin and Bettina Brokemper. The film was partially financed with support from the Filmstiftung NRW and from Eurimages. It was shot in Turkey between July and September of 2009 on 35mm, 4-perforation film by DoP Baris Özbicer. The negative footage was developed at the ARRI Filmlab in Munich where the Turkish colorist, Süeda Yamac, was in charge of the dailies for the edit. The film was cut in Turkey by editor Ayhan Ergürsel. ARRI Film & TV's Cologne office was responsible for the postproduction. In the presence of the director, the colleagues in Cologne completed the digital color correction on state-of-the-art equipment (Barco DP90 projector as well as HD monitors) in their brand new grading cinema.

With Bal (Honey), winner of the Golden Bear at the 60. Berlinale 2010, writer, director and producer Semih Kaplanoglu has proven once more that he is a master of his craft, creating a poetic and dense narrative, interwoven with elements of magical realism, by using astoundingly quiet visuals. Kaplanoglu, born 1963, is considered by many to be the legitimate successor of the great Turkish director Yilmaz Günay (Yol). With his penchant for long static shots, often lasting several minutes, pulling the audience into a sense of time that, due to its lack of action, has become entirely foreign to us, Kaplanoglu sees himself more in the tradition of a Robert Bresson. This most recent film of the multitalented filmmaker marks the end of the Yusuf Trilogy which has garnered a great deal of international attention as well as numerous awards.

Bal, which is probably one of the most ambitious projects of recent Turkish cinema, and the previous installments of the trilogy, Yumurta (Egg) and Süt (Milk), which premiered in Cannes 2008 and Venedig 2009 respectively, contemplates the life of the poet Yusuf, who had to find his way navigating extremes such as the uninhabitable modern world and the only seemingly idyllic world of his childhood in the traditional world of Anatolia.

Left: Will Yusuf's (Bora Altas) dream come true? Right: Yusuf enjoys traveling with his father © 2010 Kaplan Film

Yusuf is an only child who lives with his parents in an isolated mountain area. For the young boy, the surrounding forest becomes a place of mystery and adventure when accompanying his father on the job. Yusuf watches in admiration as his beekeeper father, Yakup, hangs specially-made hives at the top of the tallest trees. With the skill of a tightrope acrobat, he must often suspend himself dangerously from the uppermost branches to gather honey. The strong bond that he has with his father cannot protect Yusuf from becoming an outsider during his first year in school. Yusuf stutters when he has to read out loud in front of his classmates which brings him great shame. Yusuf's anxieties escalate when his father must travel to a faraway forest on a risky mission. With his father gone, Yusuf, to the distress of his pretty young mother Zehra, falls completely silent. Days pass and Yakup still does not return. Yusuf sees his mother becoming sadder every day and so the boy summons all of his courage and hikes deep into the forest to search for his father. A journey into the unknown begins...