Fatih Akin’s film on Armenian Genocide to premiere at Venice Film Fest

[Yervant1]

http://www.armradio.am/en/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/logo_up_en.png

Fatih Akin’s film on Armenian Genocide to premiere at Venice Film Festival

10:22 25.07.2014

 

 

Award winning director Fatih Akin’s latest film, “The Cut,” will premiere at the 71st Venice International Film Festival that will take place from Aug. 27 to Sept. 6, the Armenian Weekly reports.

“The Cut” tells the story of an Armenian man, Nazareth Manoogian, who after surviving the Genocide learns that his twin daughters may be alive, and goes on a quest to find them. Nazareth’s journey takes him from his village Mardin to the deserts, to Cuba and finally North Dakota. Nazareth, who is a mute, is played by Tahar Rahim. Other cast members include Simon Abkarian, Arsinee Khanjian, Akin Gazi and George Georgiou. The script is written by Akin himself and Mardik Martin. The film is in English, and runs for 138 minutes, although the version that will premiere in Venice is dubbed over in German.

“Tahar doesn’t say a word throughout the film and he is a bit like Charlie Chaplin, but at the same time, he is a typical western character, like Sergio Leone,” Akin told Cineuropa.

“The Cut” is the third in the thematic trilogy of “Love, Death and the Devil” that Akin has worked on. “I think wickedness exists within us from the moment we are born. What I found fascinating was exploring the fact that wickedness is a process of transition from goodness and that the opposite phenomenon exists too. These are concepts that are very intimately tied to each other. The most beautiful of bodies, for example, can be carrying cancer on the inside, and one same person can be capable of the nicest of actions and the vilest of crimes. I have always thought that humans were in this in between place in the evolution process. We still have to find out whether we will stop living behind borders, separated by religion, nationality,” he told Cineuropa.

Akin had submitted “The Cut” to the Cannes Film Festival, but pulled it last minute, for “personal reasons.”

One of Europe’s prominent filmmakers, Akin was born in Hamburg, Germany, to Turkish parents. His critically-acclaimed films that have won numerous international awards include “Head On” (Golden Bear award at Berlin Film Festival, Best Film and Audience Award at European Film Awards in 2004) and “The Edge of Heaven” (Best screenplay at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, and the LUX prize of European Parliament).

[onjig]

I wonder! What can he,Akin, know, what can he have included in this film. He is after all a turk.

 

I read once and interview with a turk,living in an Armenian village that is now in what is called turkey. He, this turk, was saying in reference to the then last Genocide 1915: They [Armenians] killed some of us, we killed some of them, maybe a hundred. He went on to say, we did;;;;;;;;;;;. something that I can't bring myself to write

 

This person, a turk, living in Germany has heard more, maybe believed some. thinking himself avant guard, an artist, still how much could he know, how much could he show.

Was this made to look like something that could happen in a week or a month. Could it have been shown to have started around 1915 and gone on into the 1920s.

 

I guess you would have to know the language, see this picture, I don't know.

[Yervant1]

Sireli Onjig they all know the truth no doubt in my mind, but how far can they go that depends on each person. Few will tell the whole story, others somewhat and many not much.

[Boghos]

I think is it great that Fatih Akin has made a movie on the Armenians.

[Yervant1]

There are few educated German born Turks, who fully accepts the Armenian Genocide and refuse to believe the government denial.

[Yervant1]

Fatih Akin gets Douglas Sirk Award as his film on Genocide screens

July 30, 2014 - 13:45 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - This year Filmfest Hamburg honored Hamburg-based
film director Fatih Akin with the Douglas Sirk Award, according to the
festival's website.

"By presenting the Douglas Sirk Award to Fatih Akin, we would like to
recognize his work both as a director and as a producer. His films,
which are strongly rooted in Hamburg, have put the city on the world
map of cinema. He has set an example for a whole generation of
filmmakers - both in Turkey and in Germany. His films were a starting
point of a whole movement of German filmmakers of Turkish origin",
says festival director Albert Wiederspiel about the reasons for this
choice.

The award was presented at the occasion of the German premiere of
Akin's new film "The Cut" on Saturday, July 27.

"The Cut" tells the story of an Armenian man, Nazareth Manoogian, who
after surviving the Genocide learns that his twin daughters may be
alive, and goes on a quest to find them. Nazareth's journey takes him
from his village Mardin to the deserts, to Cuba and finally North
Dakota. Nazareth, who is a mute, is played by Tahar Rahim. Other cast
members include Simon Abkarian, Arsinee Khanjian, Akin Gazi and George
Georgiou. The script is written by Akin himself and Mardik Martin. The
film is in English, and runs for 138 minutes.

"The Cut" completes Akin's "Love, Death and the Devil" trilogy which
began extremely successfully in 2004 with "Gegen die Wand" ("Head-On")
and was continued with "Auf der anderen Seite" ("The Edge of Heaven")
in 2007.

The prestigious Douglas Sirk Award is presented annually since 1995 to
a personality who has made outstanding achievements within film
culture and film industry (previous award winners: Tilda Swinton 2013,
Kim Ki-duk 2012, Andreas Dresen and Peter Rommel 2011).

Fatih Akin is one of the most successful film directors in Germany.
Gangster films, family sagas, love stories or road movies - Akin's
films defy any boundaries set between genres and stand for young,
unconventional cinema.

Akin was born in Hamburg in 1973, son of Turkish immigrants. On
completing high school, he studied Visual Communications at the
Hamburger Hochschule für bildende Künste (HfbK). His debut as a film
director was in 1998 with "Kurz und schmerzlos" ("Short Sharp Shock").
For his fourth film, "Head-On", Fatih Akin was awarded the Golden Bear
at the Berlinale, the German Film Award and the European Film Award.
In 2005, he was a member of the jury at Cannes International Film
Festival, where he also celebrated the world premiere of his film "Auf
der anderen Seite" ("The Edge of Heaven") in 2007. The film received
the Best Screenplay Award.

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/181192/
http://www.filmfesthamburg.de/en/presse/2014/2014.07.25_SirkAward.php

[Yervant1]

Bastards!!!!!!!!

German-Turkish director Fatih Akın threatened by ultranationalists over Genocide movie

An ultranationalist Turkish group has threatened famous director Fatih Akın for his upcoming movie “The Cut,” which explores controversial themes regarding the Armenian Genocide, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
A magazine named Ötüken, the publication of the Turkish Turanist Association, has released an online statement, saying it would not allow the movie to be released in Turkey after it discovered that the German-Turkish director conducted an interview with the Armenian weekly Agos.
“We openly threaten Agos Newspaper, Armenian fascists and so-called intellectuals,” the message read. “That movie will not be released in a single movie theater in Turkey. We are following the developments with our white caps and Azerbaijani flags.”
The white cap is a clear reference to the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was killed in broad daylight in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007, as the hit-man, Ogün Samast, was wearing a white cap when he murdered the editor-in-chief of Agos.
In the new Akın movie, Tahar Rahim, a French actor of Algerian origin, plays an Armenian man living in Mardin, located in the southeastern part of Turkey, who survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and begins a journey that takes him to America in a search for his two daughters.

Source: Panorama.am

 

[Yervant1]

DIRECTOR FACES DEATH THREAT OVER ARMENIAN FILM

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Aug 5 2014

Daily Sabah

ISTANBUL - Turkish-German director Fatih Akın, who is making a film
about the Armenian tragedy, was issued a thinly- veiled death threat
on social media websites by Turkish ultranationalists. Through Twitter
accounts for two magazines, ultranationalists said they would not
allow Akın's film to be shown in any cinema in Turkey, adding they
were waiting for any attempt for a screening of the film with their
"white berets."

They were referring the beret worn by Ogun Samast, the murder suspect
of Turkish-Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink. Samast, who shot Dink dead
in Istanbul in 2007, was hailed as a hero by ultranationalist circles.

Akın has told Turkish-Armenian weekly "Agos" that he gave up plans
for shooting a film about Hrant Dink, claiming he could not find a
Turkish actor who wanted to play Dink.

Fatih Akın's new film "The Cut" tells the story of an Armenian
searching for his daughter against the backdrop of mass deaths of
Armenians during World War One regarded as "genocide by the Turks"
by Armenians, a claim rejected by Turkey. The deaths are attributed to
diseases and isolated attacks by gangs by the Turkish state. However,
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan softened Turkey's stance on the
issue when he expressed his condolences for the deaths he called as
"our shared pain."

http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2014/08/06/director-faces-death-threat-over-armenian-film

[Yervant1]

FIRST TURKISH FILM TO SHOW ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WINS HARSH RECEPTION

Al-Monitor
Aug 7 2014

Author: Orhan Kemal Cengiz
Posted August 7, 2014

German-Turkish director Fatih Akin and the bilingual Turkish-Armenian
weekly Agos have been receiving death threats from nationalist Turks
since Agos interviewed the director about his new film last month. The
content of the messages, the outpouring of support for the threateners
and the authorities' inaction come as a grim illustration of the
current atmosphere in Turkey. The death threats are an omen for the
coming year, the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

Akin -- the director of films such as "Head-On," "Crossing the Bridge:
the Sound of Istanbul" and "Soul Kitchen" -- gave a long interview
to Agos on July 30 about "The Cut," his new film that focuses on the
Armenian genocide. The interview was received with great interest
and contained intriguing revelations.

For instance, Akin said he considered making a film about the life
of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the former Agos editor who
was assassinated in 2007, but none of the Turkish actors he approached
would take the role.

Akin then began to work on a new project: the story of a Turkish
Armenian who embarks on a worldwide search for his daughters after
surviving the 1915 massacres. Akin wrote the script in German, but
later decided to shoot the film in English. He sought help from Mardik
Martin, an American screenwriter with Iraqi and Armenian roots who has
contributed to the scripts of Martin Scorsese films. According to Akin,
Martin not only translated but modified and "intensified" the script.

The film -- starring French actor of Algerian origin Tahar Rahim and
Turkish actor Bartu Kucukcaglayan -- was shot in Jordan, Cuba, Canada,
Malta and Germany. It is scheduled to premiere at the upcoming Venice
Film Festival, and only a trailer is currently available.

Akin told Agos he did not consider "The Cut" a film about the Armenian
genocide but rather an adventure movie. He said he had no political
motives in making the film and hoped it would "receive due respect
in Turkey and be shown in large, modern theaters."

Akin was aware his film would not be treated as just another movie
in Turkey, even though he did not see it as the genocide. "The Cut,"
after all, is the first film by a Turkish director that addresses
the events of 1915. The director, however, remained optimistic that
the film's showing in Turkey would be trouble free. "I'm confident
that the Turkish people, to which I belong, are ready for this film,"
he told Agos.

Yet as soon as the interview was published, a tweet by the
ultra-nationalist Pan-Turkist Turanist Association suggested that
Akin might have been overly optimistic.

The message read, "Efforts are underway, under the leadership of
the Agos newspaper, for the screening of Fatih Akin's film about the
so-called Armenian genocide, 'The Cut,' in Turkey. 'The Cut' is the
first leg of a plot to make Turkey acknowledge the Armenian genocide
lies ahead of 2015 and we ... will not allow it to be screened in
Turkey. We are now openly threatening the Agos newspaper, Armenian
fascists and the self-styled intellectuals. That film is not going
to be shown in a single theater in Turkey. We are following the
developments with our white berets on and our Azeri-flagged glider.

Let's see if you can!"

The "white beret" metaphor carries a sinister message. Ogun Samast,
Dink's suspected assassin, wore a white beret when he shot Dink in
the neck outside the Agos office in downtown Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007.

The white beret has since become a symbol displayed frequently at
anti-Armenian racist and nationalist demonstrations.

The Turanist Association's threat received a series of supportive
messages by other ultra-nationalist groups on social media.

The ensuing events demonstrated that the Turkish authorities haven't
learned their lesson from Dink's murder, which was preceded by similar
threats. Under the Turkish penal code, those messages constitute
a criminal offense on several grounds, from containing threats to
spreading hate speech. The prosecution of these offenses does not
require a complaint by injured parties. The law automatically entitles
prosecutors to launch probes. Sadly, hate speech against minorities
fails to attract prosecutors' attention.

In remarks to Al-Monitor, Agos editor-in-chief Robert Koptas said
the publication has become used to receiving threats, describing
the authorities' inaction as the norm. "For us, this is not an
extraordinary situation. And the fact that it is not extraordinary
is in itself an indication of what an atmosphere we live in," he said.

"We had to file a complaint this time again, though the police and
the judiciary were supposed to have already taken action. We are not
asking for any special protection, but we are a publication whose
editor-in-chief was murdered outside his own office. Thus, the threats
we receive are supposed to have an extra meaning for the police and
prosecutors," Koptas said. He added that no government official has
called him about the threats or made any public statement on the issue.

The threats indicate that certain tensions and troubles are in store
for Turkey in 2015, the centenary of the Armenian genocide. The debate
on the Armenian genocide in Turkey in recent years has become as free
as never before. Commemoration events are now held across Turkey
on April 24, the genocide remembrance day. Yet the latest incident
suggests that ultra-nationalist groups are in a state of alert as
the anniversary draws near.

The threats directed at Akin's film demonstrate that some quarters
in Turkey have lost none of their intolerance and, emboldened by the
judiciary's failure to act, feel free to target anyone they like. It
seems no lessons have been learned from the past.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/cengiz-film-about-1915-threats-armenians-agos-fatih-akin.html

[Yervant1]

GERMAN-TURKISH DIRECTOR FATIH AKIN'S LATEST FILM RAISES FUROR IN TURKEY, DRAWS THREATS FROM NATIONALISTS

August 21, 2014

HAARETZ - The documentary film by the German-Turkish film director
Fatih Akin, "Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul" (2005),
was one of the most beautiful love songs ever created for and about
Istanbul. A musical documentary, it depicts the rich and varied music
scene in modern Istanbul. While it also sets forth the tensions and
conflicts in this complex city with its many cultural influences,
it shows love and appreciation for each one.

But Akin, who was born in Hamburg to a family that had emigrated
from Turkey, has dealt mainly with the integration, or lack of it, of
Turks into Germany. His films combine political and social criticism
and a sharp look at the situation with a bit of humor. The most
prominent of his works, "Head-On" (2004) and "The Edge of Heaven"
(2007), won him many awards at prominent film festivals worldwide.

But in contemporary Turkey, awards and loving homage apparently are not
enough to enable a film director to criticize his beloved ancestral
country or touch one of its taboos -- the Armenian genocide of the
early 20th century.

Akin's latest film, "The Cut," focuses on that topic and will be
competing at the Venice Film Festival opening late this month. It
has already aroused the ire of Turkish radical nationalists, who are
calling for a boycott of the film and for Akin to be prevented from
entering Turkey.

Following an interview in the bilingual weekly newspaper Agos, which
is published in Istanbul in both Turkish and Armenian, fanatical
Turkish nationalists sent death threats to Akin both directly and
through Agos's editorial board.

The Armenian genocide -- the mass murder of the Armenian inhabitants
of the Ottoman Empire during World War I -- was preceded by years of
massacres of the Armenians by mobs of Turkish and Kurdish villagers.

They had been incited to believe that the Armenians sought to weaken
the empire, whether because of their desire for national independence
or their support for Russia, the Ottomans' major foe.

The Armenian genocide started on April 24, 1915, when the government of
the Young Turks arrested about 250 Armenian leaders and intellectuals
in Istanbul and put them to death. With that murderous act, the
Turkish government began a campaign against the Armenians that included
expulsion, abuse, rape and starvation, killing an estimated 1.5 million
people. April 24 is the day of commemoration of the Armenian genocide.

The Armenian refugees were imprisoned in camps, where many of them died
of starvation or disease. Others were killed by burning, drowning or
poison gas as the world's countries did nothing. When the war ended,
the Turkish government leaders were tried by military courts in Europe
for war crimes and were sentenced to death in absentia. While the
three leaders mainly responsible for the Armenian genocide managed
to evade the death sentence, they did not escape fate: Three years
after the trial, two of them were killed by Armenian assassins and
the third was killed by the Soviet army.

Only about 20 countries officially recognize the Armenian genocide
and the Turkish government's responsibility for it. The others have
chosen to distance themselves from the issue out of a desire to keep
their relations with Turkey stable. Turkey's relations with countries
that have recognized the Armenian genocide -- such as France, which
also outlawed denial of it -- have fallen into diplomatic crises that
even led to the recall of ambassadors.

Recent public debate in Turkey about the Armenian genocide seems
freer and more open than ever. During his term as prime minister,
President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan even issued an official statement
apologizing to the grandchildren of the survivors of the Armenian
genocide, saying that a probe of that painful period in history was
both a human and a historical obligation.

But even his stance is not accepted by radical Turkish nationalists.

Next year, Armenian communities in Turkey and elsewhere will be
commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. But
some in Turkey still do not wish to acknowledge past crimes.

Akin's original idea was to direct a film about the late Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of Agos, who called for dialogue
between the Armenian and Turkish nations and wrote and spoke a great
deal about the Armenian genocide. On January 19, 2007, he was shot dead
at the entrance to the building that housed the newspaper's offices.

His death shocked Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of people attended his
funeral, carrying signs in Turkish, Armenian and Kurdish that read
"We are all Armenians" and "We are all Hrant Dink." Others carried
placards reading "[statute] 301 is the murderer," a hint at Statute
301 in Turkish criminal law, which prohibits "insulting Turkey." Under
Statute 301, anyone who accuses Turkey of having committed the Armenian
genocide can be sent to prison. The Turkish writer and Nobel laureate
Orhan Pamuk was put on trial under this statute for having said in
an interview with a Swiss newspaper that a million Armenians and
thousands of Kurds had been murdered in Turkey. The charges were
dropped following an international outcry.

Akin could not find a Turkish actor willing to play the role of Dink.

All the actors to whom he sent the screenplay reacted similarly,
saying the subject was too emotionally loaded. Only after he spoke
about that in an interview with Agos did some of the young and popular
actors, such as Riza Kocalogu (the star of the Turkish suspense series
"Karadayi"), say they were willing to play the role of Dink if only
they were of the right age.

Akin, who insisted that the actor playing the role of Dink be Turkish,
was compelled to give up the original screenplay. The plot of the
new film focuses on a young man, Nazareth Manoogian (played by the
French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim), a survivor of the genocide who
discovers that his daughters may be alive as well. He searches for
them in Turkey, Syria, Cuba and the U.S.

The film, shot in Jordan, Cuba, Canada, Malta and Germany, contains
appearances by the Franco-Moroccan singer Hindi Zahra and the
Arab-Israeli actor Makram Khoury.

"Turkish society is ready to deal with the topic of the Armenian
genocide," Akin says. But the radical Turkish nationalists show that
the opposite is true. The statements they sent to Agos's editorial
board threatened that if Akin's film was screened in Turkish cinemas,
their activists would be waiting outside the theater in white berets.

That's a reference to the hat Dink's assassin wore in a photograph
that was published after the murder. The article of clothing symbolized
these groups' anti-Armenian demonstrations.

Despite pressure from the Armenian community in Israel, the Israeli
government still has not officially recognized the Armenian genocide.

It does not wish to create a parallel of the Armenian genocide with
the Jewish Holocaust in Europe, nor does it wish to destabilize its
relations with Turkey. At least regarding the latter reason, such
considerations seem useless since Israel's relations with Turkey
are shaky in any case. Either way, everything seems temporary, even
Turkey under Erdogan, and the significance of the full recognition of
the other's pain cannot be ignored. They are not forgotten, and they
are not resolved on their own, not even after 99 years of trauma,
and certainly not after 66.

http://www.horizonweekly.ca/news/details/47144

[Yervant1]

The New York Times
Aug 26 2014

Q&A: Fatih Akin Discusses His New Film 'The Cut'

By STEPHEN HEYMANAUG. 26, 2014


The director Fatih Akin, 41, born in Germany to Turkish parents, has
mined his mixed heritage to make two complex, critically acclaimed
films --"Head-On" (2004) and "The Edge of Heaven" (2007) -- which
comprise the first parts of what he calls his "Love, Death and the
Devil" trilogy. The final installment, "The Cut," which is set to open
at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, goes back in time to 1915 to
replay scenes from one of the most painful and contentious chapters in
Turkish history: the Armenian genocide.

The film stars the French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim ("A Prophet") as
an Armenian blacksmith who travels around the world -- from Aleppo to
Havana to North Dakota -- in search of his two daughters, with whom he
lost touch after the outbreak of systematic violence that would
eventually claim the lives of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians.

"The Cut" -- shot on 35-millimeter film with Cinemascope lenses, with
locations in five countries and a budget of 15 million euros, or about
$20 million -- is by far the most ambitious film Mr. Akin has ever
attempted, and he admits to being a bit jittery about its reception.
The film was previously expected to debut at the Cannes Film Festival,
but Mr. Akin pulled it from consideration for "personal reasons." In
the following edited interview, he discusses why he brought "The Cut"
to Venice, how he thinks the film will be received in Turkey, and the
wide range of directors who influenced it, including Elia Kazan and
Terrence Malick.

Q. You recently told a newspaper in Turkey that the country was ripe
for a major film that dealt with the Armenian genocide. The paper has
since received death threats. Have you changed your mind?

A. No, I still believe Turkey is ready. Two friends of mine, both
producers, read the script. One of them said they will throw stones,
the other said they will throw flowers. That's what it is -- guns and
roses. But I've shown the film to people who deny the fact that 1915
was a genocide and to people who accept it and both groups had the
same emotional impact. I hope the film could be seen as a bridge. For
sure there are radical groups, fascist groups, who fear any kind of
reconciliation. And the smaller they are, the louder they bark. The
newspaper that I gave the interview to, Agos, is actually an
Armenian-Turkish weekly newspaper where the journalist Hrant Dink
worked.

Q. He was Armenian and was murdered in 2007 by a teenage Turkish
nationalist. In 2010, you attempted to make a film about Dink's life,
but couldn't find an actor in Turkey to play the part.

A. I wrote down five names of Turkish actors I thought could play him.
And all of them were nervous about the script. I don't want to hurt
anybody, I don't live in Turkey, in a way I am safe, protected. But
these actors, maybe they'd have some problems. No film is worth that.

Q. The scenes from "The Cut" that are set in Turkey were actually
filmed in Jordan. Why?


A. Mostly because of logistical reasons. The film takes place in 1915,
in southeastern Turkey, very close to today's Syria, actually. And I
needed a lot of old trains, historical trains, like the ones from the
Baghdad Railway that Germans were building through the Turkish Empire
in those days. You find those trains and those landscapes in Jordan.

Q. But you also filmed parts of "The Cut" in Germany, Cuba, Canada, Malta.

A. It's a road movie. The plot is about a father looking for his lost
children. The Armenian genocide wasn't only about violence, it was
also about forced migration, the spreading around the world of these
people, from Anatolia to Port Said, Egypt; to Havana; to Canada; to
California; to Hong Kong.

Q. To what extent was this story based on the life of a real person?

A. I did a lot of research while I was writing this and I discovered
diaries of Armenians who went to Havana in their early 20s. Oral
histories and literature about the death camps and the death marches.
I collected a lot of very rich portraits of witnesses and tried to sew
them together.

Q. You've described the film as a kind of western.

A. Yes. "The Cut" is not just a film about the material, it's about my
personal journey through cinema, and the directors who I admire and
who influence my work. Elia Kazan's "America America" is a very
important influence. So is the work of Sergio Leone, how he used
framing. It's also an homage somehow to Scorsese. I wrote this film
with Mardik Martin, Martin Scorsese's very early scriptwriter who
wrote "Mean Streets" and the first draft of "Raging Bull." Because he
was Armenian, I discovered him on this project, and he helped me write
it. And we spoke a lot about obsessional characters in Scorsese films.

The film deals also a lot with my admiration for Bertolucci, and
Italian westerns and how Eastwood adapted Italian westerns. And the
way we try to catch the light, always having it behind us, is very
inspired by the work of Terrence Malick. So this film is very much in
the Atlantic ocean, somewhere near the Azores -- for a European film
it's too American, for an American film it's too European.

Q. Why do the Turkish characters in your film speak Turkish while the
Armenians speak English?

A. The main reason is that if I wanted to control the film, I had to
control the dialogue. And I don't speak Armenian at all. There are a
lot of examples in the history of cinema. Bertolucci shot "The Last
Emperor" with the Chinese speaking English. I used the concept that
Polanski used in "The Pianist," where he made all the Polish
characters speak English and the Germans speak German, making English
a language of identification. It's a clear concept, but it's
surprising for some people because they're used to my films in German
and Turkish. But this film is more about the whole world. It's not set
in a minimalistic frame.

Q. How was working with Tahar Rahim?

A. "A Prophet" made a huge impact on me, it was great film -- a
masterpiece. And 90 percent of the quality of the film came from Tahar
Rahim. When we met, there were a lot of things that we shared. We had
relevant backgrounds -- he had grown up in France with an Arab
background, and I had grown up in Germany with a Turkish background.


Q. Are you excited or nervous about the debut of your film at Venice?

A. I'm nervous and excited. I spent too much time on it -- usually you
spend two years with a film, but on this film I spent seven years, the
last four years I was working every day. Yes, I'm nervous.

Q. "The Cut" was initially headed to the Cannes Film Festival but you
pulled the movie at the last minute, citing "personal reasons." What
happened?

A. We showed the film to Cannes and Venice at the same time. The
reaction of Venice was very enthusiastic and Cannes was a bit much
more careful, like they always are. So I was nervous, and I followed
my instincts. But I couldn't talk about my decision in the press
because Venice asked me to wait until they made their own
announcement. The people in Cannes never rejected the film but I had
the feeling that it wasn't what they expected from me. Because it's
historical, because it's in English, it's not minimalistic, I'm not
sure. But I cannot fulfill other people's expectations. I have to
fulfill my own.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/arts/international/fatih-akin-on-his-new-film-the-cut.html?_r=0

[Yervant1]

TURKISH-GERMAN DIRECTOR AKıN SAYS HIS NEW MOVIE 'DOESN'T APOLOGIZE' OVER ARMENIAN ISSUE

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 6 2014

Zeynep Mirac

"The Cut," Turkish-German director Fatih Akın's new movie based
on the 1915 events, made its long-anticipated world premiere at the
71st Venice Film Festival earlier this week. The film has received a
mixed response from critics so far, but Akın says it has "fulfilled
its purpose."

The Armenians say the World War I-era mass killings under the rule
of the Ottoman Empire amounted to "genocide." The Turkish state has
always denied this, saying that any deaths were the result of civil
strife that erupted when Armenians took up arms for independence in
eastern Anatolia.

While "The Cut" takes the traumatic 1915 events as its starting point,
what follows is a transcontinental journey story following the central
character, Nazareth, trying to reunite with his family after the
trauma of the massacres. Fatih Akın spoke to Hurriyet about the film,
his motivations behind making it, and the initial critical reaction.

Q: One of the actors in the movie, Simon Abkarian, has said "The Cut
is the movie that Armenians were waiting for." So did you make this
movie for Armenians?

A: Actually I made the movie mostly for Turks. I'm Turkish and I made
this movie for my people. Cinema belongs to the whole world, anyone
can take whatever they want from this movie. Simon sees it that way;
he liked this movie and believed in his part in it. Maybe Armenians
were not expecting a film like this from a Turk. Maybe that's what
we were trying to imply.

Q: Why did you make this movie?

A: Who else could it have been? Don't get me wrong, I don't see myself
at center stage. [Turkish journalist] Hasan Cemal has a book on the
genocide, and I have artist friends doing work on it. There's a group
of Turks who accept this, and the group is getting bigger every day.

In terms of making a movie about it, maybe I am the first. But it
feels like day by day it's getting easier to talk about this topic.

The taboos and strictness of just 10 years ago seem weaker now.

Q: What was the reason for this softening process in your opinion?

A: Hrant's death. It feels like it led to a purification on the topic.

Thoughts of empathy became more visible in Turkey.

Q: You said Hasan Cemal's "1915: Armenian Genocide" book encouraged
you. In what sense?

A: It gave me courage to use the "genocide" word. Before that I had
developed strategies to avoid using that word when I was talking about
the happenings. Hasan Cemal broke this self-developed fear. I must also
say this: As you know, Doga Perincek appealed to the European Court
of Human Rights arguing that rejection of the genocide should not be
considered a crime, and this objection was accepted. Actually, this
was also Hrant Dink's idea. He said 'Denying the genocide shouldn't
be prohibited.' He opposed France's attitude and I also agree with him.

Q: Everyone says that you're very brave. When you started the journey
of filming this movie, did you have to tell yourself to be brave?

A: I don't want to make anyone sad. Especially the people around
me. I have a family and what they think matters. My mother, my father,
my wife... I sat them in front of me and asked: "I want to do this,
what do you think?" We exchanged our ideas. If I was completely alone,
if I didn't have my family, I wouldn't have thought about anything.

Q: After an interview you gave to Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos,
you received a threat from a far-right Turkish magazine. There may
also have been other threats. Has this made you fear for your life?

A: There's only been one threat and no, I'm not worried. I've
worked on this movie for seven years and I have prepared myself for
these threats. Social media should be used properly. Someone writes
something, the European media makes a big deal out of it. But the
Turkish media didn't make a big deal out of it. Outside of Turkey,
they wrote "Turkey is against the movie" just because of one guy's
comment. Turkey should take this situation seriously, because I don't
believe it is against this movie - neither the administration, nor
the government, nor the society.

Q: Another question in people's minds is: Why you didn't put the
movie out in 2015, the 100th anniversary of the events?

A: I wanted it to be released as soon as possible. That's why I
increased the tempo and finished it before 2015. Some countries,
like France, will screen it in 2015, but that's not a decision that
is left up to me.

Q: Did you shoot this movie out of feelings of responsibility, of
guilt? Is this your apology movie?

A: I do feel responsibility, yes. I wasn't born then and neither
was my father. But I belong to this society and that's what I feel
responsibility for. As for the apology, a film doesn't apologize. You
go there and you apologize. That's different...

Q: The first reviews of the movie have been quite mixed. The Guardian
and Variety were lukewarm in their praise. What do you think about
these reviews?

A: This is a first for me. I have encountered harsh reviews for
the first time. It turns out I've been a little spoiled by critics
in the past. I had to wait until I was 41 to experience this. It's
difficult because they're criticizing my child. I have to analyse
this situation. The initial purpose of the movie was for my mother,
my father, and my friends in Turkey to like it. At the same time for
Armenian society, Armenia and the Armenian diaspora to like it. This
is actually a pretty impossible aim. I started the journey by asking,
"Could this movie act as bridge?" Could it unite those in Turkey who
accept the genocide and those who don't? That was my question.

Q: Looking at the initial responses, do you think the movie fulfilled
this task?

A: I asked myself, "Will the Armenians find the movie too light?" as
it's not about what happened. My Turkish friends liked the movie too.

If you want to bring together two sides standing against each other,
you have to pay a price; maybe that price is these reviews.

Q: When you were shooting "The Cut," was this task more important
than the cinematic language?

A: You can fulfil that task with cinema. I didn't have a concern like
"I have to prove my style." I didn't get caught up in such an complex.

I wanted to grab the public, two groups with opposing opinions. I think
the critics were expecting something different from me, whatever that
expectation was...

Q: Would you be offended if "The Cut" became one of those movies that
the critics severely criticize but the public is very interested in?

A: No. Maybe it really is a movie for society. I hope it is, it would
be fitting for the movie.

Q: When will it be screened in Turkey?

A: Our intention is to screen it in the autumn.

Q: Are you facing any difficulties about getting it screened?

A: The cinemas are scared about whether some people will protest? If
they sprayed tear gas during the Gezi protests because the public peace
was disrupted, then police can come and "protect" the cinemas too.

September/06/2014

[Yervant1]

ATOM EGOYAN'S "ARARAT" FILM TO BE SHOWN IN TURKEY

14:57, 9 September, 2014

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. In Turkey they want to show Atom
Egoyan's "Ararat" film, which tells about Armenian Genocide. As
"Armenpress" reports this film was again on the agenda of the
discussion background to show the film in Turkey, after showing,
having German director Fatih Akın's, who has Turkish origin, "The Cut"
film in Venice Film Festival.

The owner of the "Belge film" Turkish company Sabahatti Cheti 12 years
ago bought the right to show "Ararat" film in Turkey's cinemas. At
that time the film hadn't been shown in Turkey, as Chetin was afraid
that it could jeopardize the security of the cinema owners.

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/775527/atom-egoyan%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cararat%E2%80%9D-film-to-be-shown-in-turkey.html

[Yervant1]

MY FILM IS NOT IS NOT DEVOTED TO GENOCIDE, SAYS TURKISH DIRECTOR

15:24 * 21.10.14

Fatih Akin, the Turkish-German director whose movie The Cut stirred
up anger over Genocide in Turkey, has complained about facing threats.

In an interview with Evrensel, Akin said the film is neither political
nor devoted to the Genocide per se. He said he was inspired by book
written by Hassan Cemal, Cemal *****'s grandson.

"If the grandson of someone who was responsible for the era uses the
word, why shouldn't I use it? The book is on sale in book-stores and
displayed on shop-windows," he noted.

"I didn't search the topic; it found me itself. As a child of a
family from Turkey, it was always of interest to me, especially when
it turned into a taboo. When something is banned, you become curious
and studious. "

Asked whether the topic still remains a taboo in Turkey, Akin said
he sees that a lot has changed since the assassination of Hrant-Dink,
the editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos.

"If, seven years ago when Hrant Dink was killed, you tried to speak
about the Genocide in any cafe, those sitting at the table would
show resistance. You can now speak about it without whisper almost
everywhere," he answered.

Akin blamed the Turkish propaganda for diverting the Turkish society
from the historical truth.

"If one nation was permanently cheated by historians and politicians
[who said] 'nothing of the kind happened; it's a big lie' etc., and
heard nothing else from families, textbooks and newspaper, I cannot
blame them.

"But the politicians calls for leaving history to historians is wrong.

History belongs to us, to people and to all of us ..." he added.

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/10/21/fatih-akin-interview/

[Yervant1]

TURKISH FILM DIRECTOR TO SCREEN ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MOVIE IN TURKEY

11:35, 20 November, 2014

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS: The movie of the German film
director of Turkish origin Fatih Akin, The Cut, telling about the
Armenian Genocide, will be screened in Turkey from December 5.

Armenpress reports, citing the Ahram Online that set in the early
twentieth century, the story offers a window onto the Armenian genocide
which started in 1915 and led to the death of between 1 and 1.5
Million Armenians and consequently their displacement across the world.

The story follows Nazaret Manoogian, an Armenian blacksmith played by
Tahar Rahim, who is separated from his family when he is forced into
labor for the Ottoman Empire. He survives the mass killings but loses
his ability to speak and begins to search for his family members who he
learns were on a death march. When he finds out that his daughters are
alive, he resumes his journey searching for his daughters once again.

The film follows the same lines as Akin's previous films, Head On
(2004) and Edge of Heaven (2007), but this time the characters are
simpler, the motives more obvious, and destiny less harsh. In a sense,
the tension is more watered down. Compared to his similar previous
work, this picture has less suspense, perhaps replaced by atrocities
casually mentioned in passing as we follow Nazaret.

As we follow the journey, and witness the atrocities, we are speechless
just like Nazaret who lost his ability to speak, as though he is also
simply just watching like us as the tragedy unfolds. In light of all
he has experienced, Nazaret loses love, and proceeds to throw rocks
up into heaven, angry at a God who was also silent in the face of
such atrocities.

Silence is an ongoing theme throughout, and one of the most moving
scenes is as Nazaret watches Charlie Chaplain's The Kid, a silent
movie, which moves him to tears. It is as though even despite the
silence, the motion alone can move you.

The epic journey of Nazaret takes us through different lands and
landscapes. The film captures the alienating deserts of Turkey as
well as the populated but elegantly architected Cuba. The film visits
various parts of Asia and the Americas. It is a big production and
shows Akin's craftsmanship.

Akin depicts soldiers as systematic criminals, and Nazaret found
friendships in those considered by society as criminals and deserters.

Oddly, Nazaret is not able to make friendships he has made wherever
he has travelled with Americans, only with Armenians living in America.

We catch a glimpse of what genocide means when Armenians are asked
to face the wall and kneel. The commanding officer then says,
"don't waste bullets," as his subordinates proceed immediately with
simultaneous cutting their throats. But perhaps what stands out most
is that there is something worse than the killings captured by The
Cut. It is the ugliness of the world and witnessing it and being
unable to do anything to stop the evil.

Armenians weren't just slaughtered; they were chased, starved, raped
and sold as property. The film depicts instances of these atrocities,
for example, we watch a death march passing before a labor camp,
and bandits target and rape a woman in front of the laborers and
soldiers, and soldiers protected the bandits from the laborers who
thought of stopping the rape. We are taken to a camp after a death
march where people are begging to die to end their misery. It is
in these atrocious details that we can see what a genocide means,
not as whole but to an individual who has to deal with the aftermath.

Yet with all that comes the story of survival in the face of all the
ugliness in the world, the survival through a dream, and the love of
a father for his daughters. Survival through finding friendships in
the least expected places. The Cut is not primarily about the killing
of Armenians during the genocide, but rather their survival after. It
is a tale about one man's journey and his search for a home having
been deprived of one.

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/784699/turkish-film-director-to-screen-armenian-genocide-movie-in-turkey.html

[Yervant1]

Fatih Akin's Genocide film to be screened in Turkey'

14:38 * 29.11.14


German-Turkish director Fatih Akin's movie featuring episodes of the
Armenian Genocide is going to be screened in Turkey on December 5,
Daily Sabah reports.

The publication's website quotes the director as saying that he
earlier planned to produce another movie but found no actor agreeing
to play the role of Hrant Dink, the assassinated editor-in-chief of
the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos.

Oscar-winning director Martin Charles Scorsese lauded Akin as a
unique, open-minded and good-fashioned character.

The movie, entitled The Cut, features actors Tahar Rahim, Simon
Abkarian, Hindi Zahran, Gevord Malikyan and others.

The plot is based on the 1915 mass killings and deportation of the
Armenians. The southeastern Turkish town of Mardin has been selected
as the scene of developments.


Armenian News - Tert.am

[Yervant1]

FATIH AKIN SLAMS TURKISH SCHOLAR OVER GENOCIDE DENIAL

14:55 * 19.12.14

The German-Turkish director who has produced a movie on the Armenian
Genocide has slammed a Turkish scholar for the tragedy's denial.

According to Demokrat Haber, Fatih Akin urged Hakki Kessik to delete
his email from his personal address list, saying that he no longer
wishes to receive statements with a political content from him.

"I characterize the 1915 events as Genocide. Your thoughts, and the
comments you send make me write this kind of reply. I suppose you are
aware of the movie The Cut, which I have shot. And you are probably
also aware of what I have told the press about it. I do not share your
viewpoint. Hopefully, you will take my request into consideration,"
read his letter.

Kessik, who has been residing in Germany since 1968, has lectured at
the University of Hamburg. He is one of the advocates of the thesis
requiring historians' efforts to consider the Armenian Genocide and
deportation issue.

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/12/19/fatih-akin/1540788

[Yervant1]

QUARREL ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BRAKES OUT BETWEEN FATIH AKIN AND FORMER TURKISH MP

December 19, 2014 13:53

A small quarrel broke out between the German film director of Turkish
origin Fatih Akin, who had recently introduced the movie "The Cut"
dedicated to the issue of the Armenian Genocide, and the former German
MP of Turkish origin Hakkı Keskin.

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 19, ARTSAKHPRESS: Turkish Demokrathaber.net
stated about this.

Fatih Akin demanded from Hakkı Keskin to remove his name from
Keskin's email list. Among other things, Fatih Akin underscored: "I
don't want to receive Your statements of political nature contrary to
my will. I qualify the 1915 events as Genocide. I have a feeling that
I am forced to send You an answer like this for Your own standpoints
and letters sent to me without my desire. I guess You know about "The
Cut" and its content. Probably You're also aware about my viewpoints
published in the media. I don't share Your opinion."

The story offers a window onto the Armenian genocide which started in
1915 and led to the death of 1.5 Million Armenians and consequently
their displacement across the world.

The story follows Nazaret Manoogian, an Armenian blacksmith played by
Tahar Rahim, who is separated from his family when he is forced into
labor for the Ottoman Empire. He survives the mass killings but loses
his ability to speak and begins to search for his family members who he
learns were on a death march. When he finds out that his daughters are
alive, he resumes his journey searching for his daughters once again.

Armenians weren't just slaughtered; they were chased, starved, raped
and sold as property. The film depicts instances of these atrocities,
for example, we watch a death march passing before a labor camp,
and bandits target and rape a woman in front of the laborers and
soldiers, and soldiers protected the bandits from the laborers who
thought of stopping the rape. We are taken to a camp after a death
march where people are begging to die to end their misery. It is
in these atrocious details that we can see what a genocide means,
not as whole but to an individual who has to deal with the aftermath.

Yet with all that comes the story of survival in the face of all the
ugliness in the world, the survival through a dream, and the love of
a father for his daughters. Survival through finding friendships in
the least expected places. The Cut is not primarily about the killing
of Armenians during the genocide, but rather their survival after. It
is a tale about one man's journey and his search for a home having
been deprived of one.

http://artsakhpress.am/eng/news/9599/quarrel-on-armenian-genocide-brakes-out-between-fatih-akin-and-former-turkish-mp.html

[Yervant1]

FATIH AKIN'S 'THE CUT' TO BE SCREENED IN FRANCE

13:29 * 14.01.15

The Cut, a film by German-Turkish director Fatih Akin, is going to
be screened in France today.

The film tells about the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey, which
claimed more than 1.5m lives.

Fatih Akin himself cannot travel without bodyguards because of
Turkish threats.

The film is about a young man by the name of Nazareth Manoogian gets
deported from his native village of Mardin. After the deportations,
Manoogian learns that his daughters may be alive. He travels to
various parts of the world in search for them.

Tahar Rahim, a French actor of Algerian descent, plays the role of
Nazareth Manoogian.

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/01/14/fatih-fr/1558707

[Yervant1]

Mardik Martin: From "Raging Bull" to "The Cut"

Mardik Martin
January 30, 2015 09:36
exclusive


>From February, the Yerevan cinema theaters will screen The Cut
historic drama shot by German director of Turkish descent Fatih Akin.
The plot hinges upon the period during the Armenian Genocide and
following years. The closed screening of the movie for journalists
will take place in Yerevan today. Mardik Martin who is of Armenian
descent is among the screenwriters of the movie, and he agreed to talk
to us.

The Cut stands out not only because it's the first time in the history
that a Turkish director shoots a movie on the Eghern, but the fact
that Mardik Martin who has Armenian roots is among the creative cast
of the film as a screenwriter. Few people know about Mardik Martin now
while he was one of the people in the 1970-s who changed the "face" of
the Hollywood cinematography and showed real lives on the screens.

Born in Baghdad, Mardik settled in New York in the 1960-s, as his
father didn't want him to serve in the Iraqi army. After shifting
various professions, he entered New York Film School where he got
acquainted with his future partner and legend of cinematography Martin
Scorsese. By the way, Armenian Hayk Manukyan was one of their
lecturers. It was him who advised them to work together.

The advice proved more than effective. In 1973, "Mean Streets"
criminal drama was released. The film brought fame not only to
director Scorsese and screenwriter Martin but also leading actors
Harvey Keitel and Robert de Niro.

Then followed 2 documentaries - Italian Americans featuring the story
of Scorsese's parents and Last Waltz dedicated to the Band rock group
(it is considered one of the best pieces of rock-documentary), and 2
more movies - "New York, New York" (Frank Sinatra's famous song of
the same name was composed as a soundtrack to the movie) and "Raging
Bull", popular sports drama with De Niro starring as boxer Jake La
Motta.

Afterwards, Scorsese's and Mardik's paths diverged. The director
re-found himself and achieved many heights, while Mardik gradually
left the "big cinema".

"The Cut" is his first major work over the 34 years.

- When exactly did you join Fatih Akin? Did he already have a story in
mind at that point?

- Fatih had a rough of a story, which we used as the main thread to
base the script on. My main contribution was making the story simpler,
more cinematic, and rewriting the last third in a way which was
different than what he had.



- Few years ago in Yerevan, Akin told me in an interview that Raging
Bull is one of his most favorite movies ever. Was that one of the
reasons why you worked together? And have you seen Akin's previous
films?

- I don't know about his love of Raging Bull except that it's a movie
he loves. I assume he liked my work, especially Mean Streets. My
reason for working with him: this was a story I wanted to tell and I
didn't put any of his films as a reason, although I liked his work.

- What attracted you most in this project?

- This is a story that has to be told. I wanted to be one of the first
to tell it to the world. It's about time audiences learned what
Armenians had to go through.

- I guess Genocide is not just a historical event for you but
something that made your family move from Armenia to Baghdad many
years ago. Did you use stories you heard in your family while writing
The Cut?

- Indirectly. My only family connection with the massacres was through
my mother's father, who was killed in defense of his family's village.

- Not that many Genocide films have been shot till now. Did you watch
any of them -Henri Verneuil's Mayrig, Atom Egoyan's Ararat etc before
you started working on The Cut? If yes, what you liked and disliked in
them? And what is the most important part in reflecting such tragic
historical events in films?

- I did not see any of the above movies. Frankly, I was told that they
were not good. The important part of telling the story of an
historical event is audience edification. In this case, it took a
century.

- It was your first feature film since 1980's "Raging Bull". More than
30 years! What did you feel about it? What was the most difficult
part?

- I had become a full time professor at the University of Southern
California. I enjoyed teaching immensely. It did not have the
heartbreaks of writing a script, giving birth to it, and then several
years later, having it die because the studios didn't spend the
requisite money.

- Will you work on other scripts after The Cut that may be filmed in
near future?

- Very unlikely. I intend to retire peacefully with a part-time
professorship at USC. Life is passing me by as I get older.

Artavazd Eghiazaryan talked to Mardik Martin


http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/interviews/13019/#sthash.rZ9gDQVw.dpuf
http://c1.mediamax.am/datas/znews/big_1422596793_6397347.jpgMardik Martin

Photo: lisimg.com/

http://c0.mediamax.am/images/new_site/Fatih-Akin_Mardin-Martik.jpg

[Yervant1]

President Sargsyan attends Yerevan premiere of Fatih Akin's film

20:28, 30 Jan 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan


President Serzh Sargsyan, Chairman of the State Commission
Coordinating the Events Dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide attended today the screening of the film The Cut -
an Armenian Genocide movie by Fatih Akin, a Germany-based award
winning Turkish director.


http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/01/30/president-sargsyan-attends-yerevan-premiere-of-fatih-akins-film/

[Yervant1]

19:13 11/02/2015 » POLITICS

Azerbaijani media protests against Baku cinemas because of trailer of film about Armenian Genocide titled ‘‘The Cut’’

Azerbaijani media are sounding an alarm: in movie theaters Baku broadcasts the trailer of the movie "The Cut" by Fatih Akin, German director of Turkish origin, according to the contract of the distributor with the Universal Pictures Company, where can be found a universal point of demonstrating an advertising campaign and trailers before the film would start.

Yusif Sheikhov, the head of the department of the Film Propaganda Department and Film Regestration at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan in an interview with the site "1news.az" stated that the demonstration of the trailer of the film "The Cut" in Azerbaijan is unacceptable. "Yes, the display of advertisements before the demonstration of the film is a common practice for our cinemas, in most cases this is done on the basis of the contract signed between the distributor and the cinemas. But in these contracts the peculiarities of the partners and the specific situations cannot be ignored. The situation that occurred in cinemas is simply outrageous," assured Yusif Sheyhov.

The site called those cinemas that, in accordance with commitments towards Universal Pictures, continue demonstration of the trailer of the film about the Armenian Genocide "unscrupulous".

The film "The Cut" tells about Nazareth Manukyan, an Armenian who escapes during the Armenian Genocide. Years later, he accidentally discovers that his twin daughters might be saved too, and begins looking for them and comes to North Dakota. The film that lasts 138 minutes is in English, the writer and director of the film is Martik Martin. At 71 Venice Film Festival it was presented also with a German dubbing. Arsine Khanjian, Simon Abgaryan, Akin Gazin and others are staring in the film.

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

Fatih Akin's THE CUT Opens September 18th in NY & LA

16 hours ago 11/09/15

THE CUT

Directed by Fatih Akin (Head-On, The Edge of Heaven, Soul Kitchen)


Written by Fatih Akin and Mardik Martin (Mean Streets, New York, New
York, Raging Bull)

Starring Tahar Rahim (A Prophet)

Opens in New York (Lincoln Plaza and Landmark Sunshine) and Los
Angeles (Sundance Sunset Cinema, Laemmle Playhouse 7 and Laemmle Royal
Theatre) on September 18th followed by a national rollout

THE CUT is Fatih Akin's epic drama about one man's journey through the
Ottoman Empire after surviving the 1915 Armenian genocide. Deported
from his home in Mardin, Nazareth (A Prophet's Tahar Rahim) moves
onwards as a forced laborer. When he learns that his daughters may
still be alive, his hope is revived and he travels to America, via
Cuba, to find them. Co-written by Armenian screenwriter, USC professor
and Martin Scorsese collaborator Mardik Martin (Raging Bull, Mean
Streets, New York, New York)THE CUT was an official selection of the
Venice and Film Festival, and opens on Friday, September 18 in NY and
LA followed by a national release. This year marks the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

One night, the Turkish police round up all the Armenian men in the
city, including the young blacksmith, Nazaret Manoogian, who gets
separated from his family. Years later, after managing to survive the
horrors of the genocide, he hears that his twin daughters are still
alive. Determined to find them, he sets off to track them down, his
search taking him from the Mesopotamian deserts and Havana to the
barren and desolate prairies of North Dakota. On this odyssey, he
encounters a range of very different people: angelic and kind-hearted
characters, but also the devil incarnate.

One of his generation's most influential European directors,
German-Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin was born in Hamburg to Turkish
immigrant parents. His 2004 breakthrough film Head-On, a Hamburg-set
love story between two young self-destructive Turks in revolt against
tradition, won the Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear, The European
Film Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best
Foreign Language Film. Next came Akin's documentary about the music
scene in Istanbul, Crossing the Bridge ` The Sound of Istanbul,
followed by The Edge of Heaven, winner of the 2007 Cannes Film
Festival's Best Screenplay; New York, I Love You, the compilation film
for which he directed an episode; the comedy Soul Kitchen, winner of
the Venice Film Festival Special Jury Prize; and Polluting Paradise, a
documentary about environmental damage in the Turkish village of his
ancestors. THE CUT is Mr. Akin's final film in his trilogy about
`Love, Death and the Devil' following Head On and The Edge of Heaven.
THE CUT's production designer is Academy Award winner Allan Starski
(Schindler's List.)

French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim won two Césars for Most Promising
Actor and Best Actor for his breakthrough role in Jacques Audiard's A
Prophet. He has worked with Chinese director Lou Ye (Love and
Bruises), Scottish director Kevin MacDonald (The Eagle) as well as
Belgian director Joachim Lafosse's (Our Children). Rahim was most
recently seen by US audiences in Asghar Farhadi's The Past.

`THE CUT is a genuine, hand-made epic, of the type that people just
don't make anymore. In other words, a deeply personal response to a
tragic historical episode, that has great intensity, beauty and
sweeping grandeur. This picture is very precious to me, on many
levels.' ' Martin Scorsese

WATCH THE TRAILER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXExbCb_OAU

OPENS IN LA ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

SUNDANCE SUNSET CINEMA

8000 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA. 90046
(323) 654-2217
For Tickets and More Information

LAEMMLE ROYAL THEATRE
11523 Santa Monica Blvd.
West L.A., CA 90025
(310) 478-3836
For Tickets and More Information

LAEMMLE PLAYHOUSE 7
673 E Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA. 91101
(310) 478-3836
For Tickets and More Information

Q&As with Armenian-American screenwriter Mardik Martin Opening Weekend
at all theaters!
See theater websites for details.


http://asbarez.com/139747/fatih-akins-the-cut-opens-september-18th-in-ny-la/

[Yervant1]

Village Voice
Sept 15 2015

Armenian Genocide Epic `The Cut' Is a Demanding but Rewarding Journey


By Alan Scherstuhl

This epic of genocide, exile, and fortitude offers raw emotion and
marvelous vistas ' and is also a demanding sit, as epics of genocide
and exile probably should be.

Director Fatih Akin has taken on 1915's Armenian genocide, but his
ambitious film isn't just interested in harrowing us with mass
slaughter, though that material is effective. The Cut's mold-breaking
second half follows father Nazaret (Tahar Rahim), mute after a
stabbing from a Turkish soldier, traveling the globe in search of the
twin daughters he lost in the conflict ' adorable girls introduced in
the film's worst scene, when, on a pre-war family jaunt, Nazaret spies
a crane overhead and notes that this is a portent of "going on a long
journey."

That journey goes on longer than you might expect, proving dangerous
and frustrating: Nazaret scraps his way to Havana and then into the
United States, forever one city behind the last remains of his family.
The story wears on, but the photography (captured by cinematographer
Rainer Klausmann) is wonderful, this world of trains and wilderness
rendered beautiful and terrifying, the deserts of the first half
echoed in deadly majesty by the snowscapes of the ending.

Ultimately, the film's wearying qualities pay off both as
verisimilitude ' you do feel like you've been through something ' and
as awe-inspiring history, making visceral art out of a global
migration. Ever wondered why you can find traditional Armenian food at
cafés while road-tripping the Dakotas? See The Cut.


The Cut
Directed by Fatih Akin
Strand Releasing
Opens September 18, Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Landmark Sunshine

http://www.villagevoice.com/film/armenian-genocide-epic-the-cut-is-a-demanding-but-rewarding-journey-7635282