My Marlon and Brando

(United Kingdom , Netherlands , Turkey, 2008, 92 mins)

35mm

Wisconsin Premiere

writer: Ayca Damgaci, Hüseyin Karabey
cinematographer: Emre Tanyildiz
editor: Mary Stephen
production company: A-si Film Yapim, Motel Films, Spier Films, Merchant Loup
cast: Ayca Damgaci, Hama Ali Kahn, Nesrin Cavadzade, Emrah Ozdemir, Cengiz Bozkurt, Mahir Gunsiray

• IMDB Film Info
• www.insomnia-sales.com/pro/fiche_pro.php?ID_Film=144
• Trailer

Several superb films at the festival blur the lines between reality and fiction. Our Beloved Month of August and 24 City stand out, joined by My Marlon and Brando. In real life, Hama Ali, a larger-than-life Kurdish actor from Iraq famous locally for his performance as Iraq’s version of Superman, met Ayça on a film set. He and Ayça, a fiery young actress from Turkey, had a brief but passionate love affair before returning to their respective homes in Istanbul and Northern Iraq. Hama Ali sent Ayça charming video love letters, which describe the hellish violence engulfing his country as well as his tender affection towards her. He also sends her clips from comedy films in which he has starred. Increasingly lonely in her own city and misunderstood by those around her, Ayça sets off on a harrowing trip as troops are gathering on the Iraqi border. Playing herself and using material from the real video letters, Ayça is unique and memorable as she makes the journey from cosmopolitan Istanbul, where she smokes and drinks and spends her time at the community theater, to the increasingly more conservative and rural parts of Turkey. At a time when many people were fleeing from East to West in search of safety, Ayça makes the opposite journey, in search of love. The journey takes her through breathtaking landscapes, strange encounters and traumatic times. Winner, FIPRESCI Prize, 2008 Jerusalem; winner, Best Actress, 2008 Sarajevo; winner, Best New Narrative Filmmaker, 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Sponsored By:

UW Inside Islam Project

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