The filming of the short movie "Kıspet," set to introduce oil wrestling to large crowds, has been completed. The movie, which was directed by Harun Korkmaz with the support of the Ministry of Culture General Directorate of Cinema, is preparing to promote the traditional Turkish sport to the world with applications submitted to famed international film festivals.
"Kıspet" tells the story of youngster Hamza and his orphan friend Sinan. Although Hamza’s father, who is an ex-chief wrestler, tries very hard to keep his son away from wrestling, Hamza and Sinan find their way in the virtuous light of sports.
In the story, Cemal, who is in his mid-40s, was previously injured while wrestling with his close friend Korkmaz in the semifinals of the Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival. After that day, he completely quits wrestling and burns all the tools and memories of this sport on the stove. Though he is a former wrestler, Cemal does not want his son Hamza to get involved in this sport.
However, Hamza becomes interested in wrestling after listening to the stories of his father and grandfather. It is actually not possible to stay away from wrestling, which permeates every aspect of life in the Korkuteli district of southern Antalya province. Cemal does not want his son to be a wrestler nor does he want him to help with the vineyard or garden because the extra work could disrupt his lessons. He wants his son to be an educated man.
Hamza's biggest dream is to show his father how successful he could be as a wrestler during a school performance. Things don't go as planned. In addition to his father's persistent goal of education, Hamza pursues both the future his father had planned for him and his own dream.
The film is named after kıspet, a leather knee-high trousers worn by Turkish wrestlers. Donned in these trousers and covered in Turkey's famed olive oil, wrestlers try to tackle each other to the ground on grass fields to become the last man standing in Turkish oil wrestling. The Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival, one of the oldest sports events in Turkey, is also held every year. In this contest, wrestlers of all ages and weights compete for three days for the ultimate prize of a golden belt. The winner is bestowed with the golden belt and the coveted title of "chief wrestler."
The movie’s plot was written by Korkmaz and Necip Güleçer. Professor Abdülkadir Emeksiz, the head of the Department of Folklore at Istanbul University, and Halil Bağdat served as advisers to the film, and the director of editing was Ilter Demirkan. The scores of the film were composed by Ilkay Bora Öder.