Dot

Dot is the latest in a series of film from writer-director Derviş Zaim that combine his contemporary consemption of cinema with traditional Turkish art forms ino a coherent whole. In Dot, Zaim blends the concept of "Ihcam" - the practice in Ottoman calligraphy of forming a character in a single, fluid stroke - with a digital cameras capacity to shoot in a single uninterrupted movement. With the endless, white expance of the Salt Lake as a backdrop, he capitalises on the illusion of no horizon, of the coalescence of earth and sky. And the visual effect he produces is of a film shot as a single take. He figures, comprising the film's characters, their vehicles and a hut, appear as though against a while backdrop help up to the light in the manner of a shadow play. What takes Dot beyond being merely a tachical tour de force or pure experiment, is the content, which shows the influences of both Islamic mysticism and psychoanalysis. The plot centres on a man tormented by a crime he once committed and desperate to redeem himself. He manifests the collision of good and evil and the hunger for forgiveness of a person who regrets having succumbed to his own soul and committed evil. At the same time, the imposibility of turning back the clock through the odd editing trick simply underscores the reality that the dead will never return. Alin Taşçıyan
Turkey
'
2008

Director
Derviş Zaim

Script
Derviş Zaim

Cinematography
Ercan Yılmaz hasn't been active on Medium yet.

Production
Marathon Film (Derviş Zaim)

Cast
Mehmet Ali Nuroğlu
Seddar Tanrıöven
Sener Kokkaya
Serhat Kilic

Music
Lawn oppressed

Awards
Best Design and Mixage
Best Direcot
Best Music
Critics Prize Antalya
Dr. Avni Tolunay Special Jury Prize
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism Best Turkish Director Istanbul

Festivals
14th Festival on Wheels
TURKEY 2008