Sinan Cetin

“Kağıt” (Paper) stars Öner Erkan as Emrah, a young man with a passion to make movies. As he directs his debut film, he hits bureaucratic roadblocks, first in receiving a certificate of eligibility to film on the grounds that it threatens the unity of the state, and later when he finally tries to release the film, the shooting of which proved so difficult. Bureaucrat Müzeyyen (Asuman Dabak) becomes the symbol of Çetin’s dysfunctional and autocratic state, turning every stage of filmmaking into hell. Emrah takes revenge on the woman by kidnapping her.Read More »

Yaprak is just one of thousands of young women, who leave their quiet village lives behind them to seek their fortune in Istanbul. But the reality of life in a big city is harsh, and Yaprak is forced to take a job in one of the cities licensed brothels.
Spoiler:
Her beauty and youth make her popular with the patrons and she is soon the focus of the attention of two men; Necmi, a spineless but well meaning young man, and Arab, a deranged pimp who has recently lost his main source of income, his wife Zargana. Necmi wants to take Yaprak away from her nightmare existence, but soon finds himself forced to separate from her by the viscous Arab. Arab spends all of Yaprak’s money, but after a savage attack on her, she comes to her senses. She and Necmi get married and as Yaprak says farewell to her friends in the brothel, Arab returns for the last time to seek his brutal revenge…(IMDb)Read More »

A young German engineer photographs a beautiful Turkish woman without her permission. Her husband finds out and starts a fight. In the midst of the argument the German engineer accidentally kills the husband. With his burdened conscience, he goes out to Berlin’s Turkish district to find the woman. He is spotted by her relatives, and while escaping, by strange coincidence he ends up hiding in the man’s home whom he has killed. According to Turkish customs, a guest in one’s household must be treated with dignity and respect even if he is the enemy. Thus, the tension and difficulties among the Turkish family and the German engineer begin. As long as he stays he will survive, but how long can he live in the home of a man he murdered? (IMDb)Read More »

Quote:
It would be unfair to call Sinan Çetin just a filmmaker, despite the broadness of the term. He has remained a hovering presence over Turkey’s pop culture for two decades whether he makes movies or, as is generally the case, does not. Çetin is a persona who is much larger than the sum of his parts.

It’s a rule of thumb that nearly all popular figures generate their unique brand of devoted fans and followers, along with haters of a similar fervor. With Çetin, the number of fans and followers has diminished and are arrayed against an impressive number of detractors that include other filmmakers, movie critics and viewers.

The director, however, has chosen to show the finger to anyone who deigns to tarnish his work and his persona and has managed to maintain his position in Turkey’s culture scene and his currency among the artistic elite.Read More »