Alper's film is inspired both by his personal experiences as a university student in Istanbul and by the Return to Life action, a violent Turkish government move in 20 prisons to stop ongoing hunger strikes and death fasts in December, 2000.
Alper was born in 1975 in a small town of Artvin. While a student of physics and later history at Istanbul University, he worked in various cinema clubs and societies. In 1999, he began working for films and television serials as an assistant director. His short film Grandmother (2001) was the first film in Hemsin language (a disappearing dialect spoken in the northeast of Turkey, which is also used in Autumn) and recieved several awards. He directed two documentaries: Voyage in the Time with a Scientist (2005) and Rhapsody and Melancholy in Tokai City (2005). He also worked as the production coordinator of Huseyin Karabey's My Marlon and Brando (2008) before shooting his own feature.
Alper's Autumn is a Turkish-German coproduction which made its international premiere at the Locarno Film Festival and was awarded with the Art & Essai CICAE award. It also received the Best Film and Best Supporting Actress (for Megi Kobaladze) awards at the 15th Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, and the NETPAC Award at the 4th Antalya Eurasia International Film Festival.
Autumn will be theatrically released in Turkey on 30 screens on December 19, 2008.
Official site: www.sonbaharfilm.com
Format: Super 16-to-35mm
Budget: 400,000 euros
Production Supports: Turkey Ministry of Culture Production Support-Turkey, Filmstiftung North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)-Germany
Production Companies
Kuzey Film Productions (Turkey): Gazeteci Erol Dernek Sokak No:6 Kat 3 Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey. tel: +90.212.252.3605,fax: +90.212.252.3606, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Filmfabrik Gmbh (Germany): Severinskirchplatz 4 50678 Koln Germany, tel: +49.221.93 47 67 0, fax: +49.221.93 47 67 1, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., official site: www.filmfabrik.net
International Sales: Media Luna Entertainment (Germany): Aachener Str. 26 50674 Cologne Germany, tel: +49.221.801498-0, fax: +49.221.801498-21, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., official site: www.medialuna-entertainment.de
Distributor: Tiglon Film (Turkey): Dereboyu Cad Meydan Sk No: 28 Beybi Giz Plaza K:6 No: 19-20 34398 Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey. tel: +90.212.290.3737, fax: +90.212.290.3738, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., official site: www.tiglon.com.tr
CAST: Onur Saylak (Yusuf), Raife Yenigul (Gulefer), Megi Kobaladze (Eka), Serkan Keskin (Mikail), Nino Lejava (Maria), Sibel Oz (Asiye), Cihan Camkerten (Onur), Serhan Pirpir (Cihan), Yasar Guven (Kogus Yasar)
CREW: Ozcan Alper (director & screenplay), F.Serkan Acar (producer), Kadir Sozen (co-producer), Ersin Çelik (co-producer), Feza Caldıran (director of photography), Canan Cayır (art director), Adnan Elial (editing), Muhammed Mokhtary (sound recordist), Engin Altıntas (gaffer), Daduna Ghalnti (make-up), Sophie Macverie (make-up), Gokhan Evecen (production manager), Rasim Kurtulan (production designer), Demet Yesilbas (first assistant director), Ozgur Pak (second assistant director), Soner Alper (production assistant), Cenk Agacabey (production assistant), Cemil Aksu (production assistant), Burak Senbak (focus puller), Meryem Yavuz (loader), Yasemin Taskın (first assistant art director), Efraim Vayic (second assistant art director), Serif Atar (electrician), Umit Ozcan (electrician), Mutlu Avar (grip), Tolga Ayhan (grip), Ebrahim Mokhtary (boom operator), Safak Kibar (driver), Salih Gündüz (driver), Murat Alper (driver), Osman Zeki İsmailoglu (driver).
