ARAF
Turkey, France, Germany
Pretty Zehra and her friends are stuck working in a service station cafeteria, caught somewhere in between the past and an uncertain future while struggling with the bittersweet rite of passage to adult life... www.the-match-factory.com/films/items/araf.html
Pretty Zehra and her friends are stuck working in a service station cafeteria, caught somewhere in between the past and an uncertain future while struggling with the bittersweet rite of passage to adult life... www.the-match-factory.com/films/items/araf.html
Director's Statement
After making several award-winning shorts in Turkey, Yeşim Ustaoğlu made her feature film debut in 1994 with THE TRACE. She received international recognition for her JOURNEY TO THE SUN. In competition at the Berlin IFF in 1999, it received the Blue Angel Award (Best European Film) and the Peace Prize. With the story of a courageous friendship undaunted by political cruelty, the film swept the Istanbul FF, winning Best Film, Best Director, the FIPRESCI Prize and the Audience Award. Her third film, WAITING FOR THE CLOUDS, the story of a woman forced to live for 50 years with the haunting secrets of a hidden identity, was awarded NHK Sundance - International Film-maker's Award and thus established a strong reputation for the director. With her fourth film, PANDORA'S BOX, the story of an old woman suffering from Alzheimer disease, Yeşim Ustaoğlu won the Best Film and Best Actress award in San Sebastian in 2008, continued to travel many international festivals and was also released theatrically in many countries.