The award-winning film "Kalandar Soğuğu" (Cold of Kalandar) will be Turkey's submission for this year's 89th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The winner will be selected from among five entries for best foreign-language film which are narrowed down from nine and evaluated by the Foreign Language Film Award Committee.
The film which hit Turkish theaters on Sept. 16 tells the story of a family who lives in a mountain village near the Black Sea where they try to hold on to life.
Starring Haydar Şişman, Nuray Yeşilaraz, Hanife Kara and İbrahim Kuvvet, "Kalandar Soğuğu" (Cold of Kalandar) is directed by Mustafa Kara.
"We wanted to portray the drama of the story while also capturing the natural environment of the Black Sea region, which is not something typically covered in Turkish film. Therefore we chased this ambition and shot the film during four seasons," Kara said about the film.
Written by director Kara and Bilal Sert, the Turkish production premiered at the Tokyo Film Festival and won the awards for Best Director and Best Film.
"Cold of Kalandar" also won many other awards, including the Special Jury Award at Premier Plans D'angers in France and the award for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Music and Special Jury Awards at the Antalya Film Festival, followed by Best Director, Best Actor, Best Cinematographer and Best Fiction awards at the Istanbul Film Festival, and Best Director at the Red Tulip Film Festival in the Netherlands.
Turkey, which has been submitting films for the Oscars on a regular basis since 1989, has been represented by renowned directors Tunç Başaran, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Yavuz Turgul on more than one occasion.
