Directors exert great individual efforts for Turkish cinematic success

Kaan Müjdeci is among the favorites of the Venice Film Festival with his film "Sivas," which recounts the story of an 11 year old child and a dog named Sivas and their adventure in the moorland. Director Müjdeci stated that he studied the behaviors of children and their dogs before shooting the film. Although the drama of the film is interesting, the director noted that his own perspective is also credited by the audience. He further talked about the dog in the film saying, "We did not expect a Kangal dog [a livestock guardian dog breed originating in Sivas, Turkey] to act like an American 'Lassie.' We wanted the dog to act like a Kangal. He was very successful during the fight scenes," said Müjdeci. On the other hand, he also stated that the film ranks number seven among the other possible films that can win the highest prize in the Venice Film Festival bets and said he does not know anything about how the betting works. "I have no idea who bets on what.

I do not know who has watched the film already. Maybe the president of the festival Antonio Barbera said something and the others placed our film at number seven,"Müjdeci noted. Answering a question about the festival, the director said festivals are for producers, distributors and the actors. "My job is to write scenarios and shoot films," he said, adding that he is working on his new film. He stated that he will be more comfortable while shooting his next film thanks to the recognition that the Venice Film Festival brought him. He said, "this time, I will be able to pay my film crew, it will not be an abuse of hard-work."

He stated that he can have dreams about this movie since it will not be shot under hard circumstances.According to Müjdeci, the success of Turkish Cinema, which marks its 100thanniversary this year, depends on individual achievements.He stated that directors Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Zeki Demirkubuz shot their films with their own money.
H
e said that they could not even pay all the money that the film crew deserved. "Turkish films' success in film festivals is the achievement of the directors and actors, not Turkish Cinema. For example, we cannot compare the German film industry to Turkish Cinema since Germans spend 85 million euros [TL 238.73 million] on cinema every year"Müjdeci concluded.