Cinema
On Fertile Lands
Bereketli Topraklar Üzerinde
Erden Kıral · 1979
Synopsis
Three friends, Köse Hasan, Pehlivan Ali and Yusuf, leave their poor village for the Çukurova, the cotton-growing plain of the south, where they hope to find work, according to Beyazperde. They move from a factory to a building site, then to the rice paddies and cotton fields, in increasingly harsh conditions. The New York programme of the Lincoln Center sums up their journey as the discovery of a system designed to exploit workers and break their dreams.
Context
The film is based on a novel by Orhan Kemal; the screenplay brought together Tuncel Kurtiz, Erden Kıral, Mahmut Tali Öngören and the novelist. Banned after the 1980 coup d'état, it had its copies confiscated and its negative stolen, according to Film at Lincoln Center; the negative, found in a Swiss studio, made possible a restored print, shown at the Istanbul festival in 2008. Beyazperde dates the theatrical release to 2 May 2008.
Who it is for
A film in Turkish lasting one hour fifty-five, long unseen, shown since its restoration with English subtitles.
Prizes and reception
Grand Jury Prize for best screenplay in Strasbourg, and prizes for best director and best supporting role in Antalya.
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