4th Annual MFAH Houston Turkish Film Festival: Sivas

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents the 4th Annual MFAH Turkish Film Festival September 29 through October 2. The 4th Houston Turkish Film Festival showcases new films that have entertained and intrigued audiences worldwide.

Special guests include Kaan Müjdeci, director of Sivas, a film about an Anatolian boy and his dog; and Tolga Karaçelik, director of Ivy, a character study about men stranded at sea. Anyone who knows Istanbul will be charmed by another festival selection, The Cats of Istanbul.

Sivas
Director Kaan Müjdeci
Released 2014
Language in Turkish with English subtitles
Country Turkey
Running Time 95 minutes
Format DCP, Color
Website http://www.sivasfilm.com/

Director Kaan Müjdeci is in attendance and joins a Q&A after the screening.

Set in an Anatolian village in Eastern Turkey, Sivas is a coming-of-age story about 11-year-old Aslan and Sivas, a weathered fighting dog. They develop a strong bond after the boy rescues the wounded animal.

Disappointed at losing the lead role in the school play to his romantic rival, Aslan tries to impress the girl they both like with Sivas. However, as Sivas’s new lease on life and success in dog fighting attracts more attention by the village head, Aslan finds himself in an unexpected crash-course into adulthood.

Sivas premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, earning a Special Jury Prize, and went on to win a dozen awards at festivals around the world.

About the Speaker
Born in Ankara, Kaan Müjdeci moved to Berlin in 2003 to study  directing. Instead, he first opened an illegal open-air cinema, then a bar, and finally, a fashion store. In parallel to all these ventures, Müjdeci has continued filmmaking.

Among his short films, Tag der Deutschen Einheit (Day of German Unity) was bought by several TV channels; and Jerry, his thesis film at the New York Film Academy, was screened within the scope of Berlinale’s Talent Campus, which he attended in 2011.

Müjdeci’s documentary Babalar ve Ogullar (Fathers and Sons), about dog fights in central Anatolia, served as a platform to write and direct his first feature film entitled Sivas. Shot in 2012 with production support from the Turkish Ministry of Culture, Sivas also received a post-production grant from the Istanbul Film Festival’s Meetings on the Bridge in 2013.

A versatile entrepreneur, Müjdeci is also at the helm of the popular Kreuzberg venue Luzia and the concept fashion store Voo.

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/sivas_film