The gala screening of “Bir Adam Yaratmak” (“Creating a Man") adapted from the play by Turkish poet and thinker Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, was held at Istanbul’s Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), drawing high-level political and cultural attendance, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, first lady Emine Erdoğan, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Istanbul Governor Davut Gül.
Directed by Murat Çeri, the film marks the first cinematic adaptation of the 1930s stage work, which explores existential anxiety, creativity and the collapse of reason. Çeri emphasized during the screening that he remained faithful to the original text, preserving its language rather than simplifying it for modern audiences, stating that the goal was to bring the work to younger generations in its original intensity.
The film, which will be released theatrically on May 1, has already been screened at the 13th Boğaziçi Film Festival and the 43rd Fajr Film Festival in Iran, as well as earning international recognition at the Chennai International Film Festival.
Lead actor Engin Altan Düzyatan, who portrays Hüsrev, described the role as emotionally demanding, noting that the character’s psychological burden made it difficult to separate from the role during production.
The story follows Hüsrev, a playwright whose mental state deteriorates as the boundaries between his written world and reality begin to collapse. The story centers on his escalating inner conflict, particularly around themes of identity, fear of death and paranoia. The protagonist’s repeated questioning of his place in life – encapsulated in his line, “I cannot find my role or place” – functions as a thematic summary of the film.
From a viewer’s perspective, Hüsrev’s inner struggle is the emotional core of the film. His relationship with reality becomes increasingly unstable as he questions whether those around him are friends or threats, while also questioning his own identity. The character is portrayed as being trapped in a self-destructive cycle where the very questions he seeks to answer begin to consume him. As his mental state deteriorates, he increasingly resembles his father, who is revealed to have died by suicide, a detail that introduces the recurring symbolic presence of a fig tree motif throughout the narrative.
The film also explores the mother’s psychological position, caught between past trauma and present fear, particularly as she becomes convinced that Hüsrev is following a similar path of collapse. Her decision to have the fig tree cut down becomes a symbolic act that intensifies the emotional rupture within the family structure.
Stylistically, the film closely reflects its origins as a stage play, with a theatrical structure and dialogue-heavy scenes that may feel more static than cinematic. Its use of Ottoman Turkish expressions and dense dialogue preserves the historical texture of the original text, though this choice may present accessibility challenges for younger audiences unfamiliar with the language style. The adaptation emphasizes mood and psychological weight over conventional cinematic pacing, reinforcing the sense that the viewer is witnessing a staged descent into mental fragmentation rather than a linear narrative.
