Istanbul International 1001 Doc Film Festival/3
“VTR Film Directing Research Production” is run by director Enis Rıza and executive producer Nalân Sakızlı. Husband and wife. Around them they have young committed and skilled women – the festival director of this year, Bahriye Kabadayı, the conference director of this year Ebru Seremeti, and the producer and coordinator Selma Salman, who by the way is the partner of Sinan Sakızlı, composer and music producer, and son of Enis and Nalan. As they used to say in American soaps… are you confused?
You should not be. This film collective, behind the festival and congress, is constantly on the road both to produce new films but also to make the necessary film political moves to make changes for the better in Turkish documentary. The word solidarity is still used in Istanbul among the documentarians.
Enis Riza (PHOTO) had a new film in the festival, “Recycling Life” (Turkey, 2009, 105 mins.),about a young man, who used to be a homeless paper collector, and a very good one, he was. The street life was close to drugs, and yet he made it out of the underground hell and set up a bookshop! The film has wonderful moments, is warm and has a charismatic main character. The scenes with him and his mother are unforgettable. However, it is far too long, and Riza advertised a cut down to one hour, which is a wise decision, also for the film’s chances to reach a European audience.
The company has a fine website with great music and a lot of info on what “Eniz and his Harem” is doing.
