A THOUSAND CUTS

2021
98’
Colour
Turkey

The son of a religious father, Vural leads an ordinary life. He and his father run a photo shop opposite the American Consulate, mostly taking passport photos. He models himself on his father, who advocates honesty and warns that Allah is watching the world at all times. Vural passes on similar advice to his own son. Despite being a good son, a good father and a good husband, he has a secret that he hasn’t told anyone: he is having an affair with Sonay, who makes a living cleaning houses in the neighbourhood. Sonay has dreams of going to America to start a new life.

Necip Çağhan Özdemir says his motivation for making Pure White was “to look at individuals who have sinned grievously in the context of their own beliefs, and to explore where, who and what ideas they are then forced to turn to.”

Necip Caghan Ozdemir (Ankara, 1989) graduated from the Bilkent University Department of International Relations. He went on to study Film and Theater at the New York Film Academy, Stella Adler Theater and Ivana Chubbuck Studio between 2011-2016. He also spent a while based in Los Angeles as a commercial and TV show producer. Since 2017, he has been making films as a screenwriter, producer and director.