Burning Days
| Burning Days | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Turkish | Kurak Günler |
| Directed by | Emin Alper |
| Written by | Emin Alper |
| Produced by | Nadir Öperli Kerem Çatay |
| Starring | Selahattin Paşalı Ekin Koç |
| Cinematography | Christos Karamanis |
| Edited by | Eytan Ipeker Özcan Vardar |
| Music by | Stefan Will |
Production companies | Ay Yapım Liman Film |
| Distributed by | The Match Factory |
Release date |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
| Countries | Turkey France |
| Language | Turkish |
Burning Days (Turkish: Kurak Günler) is a Turkish-French drama film, directed by Emin Alper and released in 2022.[1] The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard program at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it was a nominee for the Queer Palm, before premiering in Turkey at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in October 2022.[2][3]
Summary
The film centres on Emre, a lawyer newly appointed as the state prosecutor in a small drought-ridden town plagued by sinkholes, a result of over-drilling for groundwater. He is drawn into political conflicts around local corruption amidst mayoral elections, with his authority challenged both by being drugged at a party where a young gypsy woman is raped as well as by rumours that he is having an illicit affair with Murat, the editor of the local anti-establishment newspaper.[4]
Cast
- Selahattin Paşalı as Emre Gündüz
- Selin Yeninci as Judge Zeynep
- Nizam Namidar as Selim Öztürk
- Erol Babaoğlu as Şahin Öztürk
- Erdem Şenocak as Kemal Gürçay
- Ekin Koç as Murat Körükçü
Controversy
In December 2022, well after the film had already premiered both at Cannes and Antalya, the Turkish General Directorate of Cinema demanded repayment of the production funding it had granted to the film.[5] Although they did not officially state a reason for the demand, it was believed to relate to the controversy around the film's LGBTQ+ themes.[5]
Awards
Özcan Vardar and Eytan Ipeker won the European Film Award for Best Editor at the 35th European Film Awards.[6]
The film won nine awards at Antalya, including Best Director (Alper), Best Actor (Paşalı), Best Supporting Actor (Babaoğlu), Best Cinematography (Christos Karamanis), Best Music (Stefan Will), Best Editing (Vardar, İpeker), the Turkish Film Critics’ Association Award and the Cahide Sonku Award (Çiğdem Mater).[7]
References
- ^ Stephanie Bunbury, "Cannes Review: Emin Alper’s ‘Burning Days’". Deadline Hollywood, May 26, 2022.
- ^ Jonathan Romney, "‘Burning Days’: Cannes Review". Screen Daily, May 26, 2022.
- ^ "Cannes 2022 | 17 longs et 12 courts en lice pour la Queer Palm". Écran Noir, May 15, 2022.
- ^ Jessica Kiang, "‘Burning Days’ Review: A Sweltering, Stylish Small-Town Allegory for Corruption in Strongman Societies". Variety, June 29, 2022.
- ^ a b Ben Dalton, "Turkish government demands repayment of funding from Queer Palm-nominated ‘Burning Days’". Screen Daily, December 13, 2022.
- ^ Scott Roxborough, "‘Belfast,’ ’The Quiet Girl’ Among 2022 European Film Awards Craft Winners". The Hollywood Reporter, November 23, 2022.
- ^ Vassilis Economou, "Özcan Alper’s Black Night emerges victorious at the 59th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival". Cineuropa, October 10, 2022.
External links
- Burning Days at IMDb