Tuncel Kurtiz

Tuncel Kurtiz is an international actor who has worked in various countries such as Turkey, Germany, and Sweden throughout his fifty-year career. He has starred in countless works in cinema, stage and television and has received many awards, including the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. He has directed two documentaries and a feature-length fiction film. Kurtiz's acting performance ranges from popular melodramas to major plays such as Mahabharata (Peter Brook), encompassing many different genres and styles. As an actor, Kurtiz believes in the creative power of chaos: 'Chaos is the most difficult to create / Not a false chaos / Many things come out of chaos'. Through testimonies, film excerpts, and archive footage, this documentary reflects Tuncel Kurtiz's diverse body of artistic work in all its dimensions for the first time. In the background of this detailed portrait are Turkey's turbulent years and the reality of exile.

Director Hüseyin Tabak explores the legacy of Yilmaz Güney — political dissident, convicted murderer, and visionary Kurdish filmmaker — who directed the 1982 Palme d'Or–winning Yol from inside prison and died in exile just two years later.

The Japanese Emperor Meiji wants Torajiro Yamada to bring a gift to the Ottoman Emperor Abdülhamid II. It is the symbol of the first diplomatic encounter between the two cultures. Torajiro Yamada's ship finally reaches the Aegean Sea after a long journey, but pirates attack the ship and steal the gift. Janissary Orhan and samurai Yamada start their bloody quest upon finding that on Ottoman soil.

February 28 is Deniz Gezmiş's birthday… He would have been 75 years old today; but it only lived for 25 years, and in those 25 years, it had an impact that spanned 75 years. When you have a 25-year-old son, one feels better, what was done to him...

Children of a retired colonel come together after their father falls from the rooftop. This constrained togetherness reveals their lies day by day.

A painter with a turbulent history, fiercely committed to his ideals and still averse to settling down despite his 70 years; a lawyer who packed in his job after suffering a heart attack and now pursues a quiet life looking after his pet snail; a doctor already disenchanted with his profession and now discarded by his wife; a career woman braving life on her own, who has made loneliness a life style. These characters are all patrons of Black & White, an Ankara bar that has been around for 25 years, and in a sense the bar is their last haven. The owner, meanwhile, is the irritable, easily offended but utterly lovable Faruk... Black & White is a film about the awareness of growing old, friendship, sensitivity and the finer details of life.

The lives of six German-Turkish immigrants are drawn together by circumstance: An old man and a prostitute forging a partnership, a young scholar reconciling his past, two young women falling in love, and a mother putting the shattered pieces of her life back together.

Adventurer Jack Hunter sets off in pursuit of a legendary tomb, meeting dangerous old adversaries, and even more dangerous old flames, along the way.

Plagued by financial problems, ne'er-do-well Guido ends up in jail after faking an armed robbery at his workplace. A year later, just a few days before his release, he's forced by two dangerous inmates to take part in their jailbreak. On the run, Guido sets out to find his partner Antonella, who helped him with the robbery and still has the money.

The story of rivalry between two forms of winter transport: the horse-drawn sleigh which can take the short cut over the frozen lake and the red minibus which needs to be more devious to beat its rival. While the race goes on other tales of intransigence are told in this land of bards and minstrels.

Summer Love is a 2001 Turkish drama film directed and written by Barış Pirhasan with Gül Dirican.

When a nationalistic wealthy landowner's idealist son falls for a non-muslim prostitute, he finds himself in a conflict between his feelings and politics under the shadow of the events of September 6th-7th in 1955, the Istanbul Pogrom.

The story takes place in Harbiye town of Antakya just before the 1960 military coup d'etat. The economic and political crisis of those days are reflected by the both funny and sad story of a family. The story is told from the eyes of Cemal. Now a famous painter, Cemal goes back to his hometown years later and remembers his childhood. In those days Cemal's father and uncle, member of rival political parties, are in a continious struggle with each other. The film depicts this absurd struggle and the strange stories of people in Harbiye together with the lyric story of the famous waterfall of the town.

Jealousy and hatred is what separates the Pandavas and Kauravas. The Kauravas fear the Pandavas are after the throne of their father. Yudhishthira of the Pandavas gets told by the deity, Krishna, that he will become king. A war is inevitable.

A Turkish watchmaker is employed to mend a village clock that has not worked for some seven years. However, what seems like a simple and un-exciting task is plunged into a web of mystery and intrigue when the watchmaker innocently witnesses the murder of a beautiful woman on his first day in the village.

Mahsun Supertitiz is an unemployed homeless man who steals cars at night so that he can sleep in a heated place during the winter. Mahsun lives in Rumelihisar, an old section of Istanbul, and makes ends meet by getting the local fishermen to help him. Mahsun loves the cars he robs, cleans and polishes them, and drives them through the streets of Rumelihisar during the daytime.

An unspecified European country ca 1912 in the throws of political upheaval. A man only dressed in black (Jacob, played by Philip Zandén) is hired to assassinate the Interior Minister Joel Birkman (Etienne Glaser) after a particular brutal strike down of a student protest. He takes up work as the minister's bodyguard at his summer residence, and get's entangled in the affairs and politics of the Birkman family.

The struggle of Seydo, whom he was assigned to go with lieutenant Murat, in the tough geography of the Southeast Anatolia.

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An asylum seeker, distraught and mute, apparently a victim of torture, is admitted to a clinic and causes distress to the staff with her behavior.

Orhan, who is ten years old, comes to Vienna from a small Village in Anatolia. Armed with his grandfather's revolver, he intends to avenge his father, who was a "guest worker" and was killed in a car accident. On his quest for "vengeance", Orhan meets friends and enemies and finds himself in a totally strange world. Finally he realizes the absurdity of his plan and returns to his village.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

Kurdish expert Hiner Saleem (Shero) wrote and directed this French comedy-drama, set inside the 100,000-population Kurdish community in Paris. The original French title translates as "Long Live the Bride...and the Liberation of Kurdistan." Cheto (Georges Corraface) seeks a wife via videotapes while still seeing his French girlfriend, immigration office worker Christine (Stephanie Lagarde). Cheto places an order for a beautiful girl, but he's disappointed when her sister, country girl Mina (Marina Kobakhidze), arrives at the airport as a substitute. Family pressure forces him to marry her. Unhappy with the way she's treated by Cheto, Mina acquires some progressive notions from Leila (Schahla Aalam) and other local feminists, leading to confrontations with Cheto.

A run-down former radio producer persuades two quarrelsome 1950s stars to try their comeback on nationwide television...

During the sea battle which took place between the Ottoman Empire and the Italians, a ship which had been seized in the Mediterranean Sea is brought to Istanbul, and a young wounded lady named Francesca, the daughter of the killed Captain, becomes a slave for Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi.

No synopsis available yet.

Being condemned to house arrest by her husband, a countess recognises her Turkish servant as a fellow suppressed creature and sets him free…

Sawdust Tales is a whimsical and timeless parable on survival in hard times and the force of a first love against all odds. In a timeless no-mans land scarred by social decay and imminent war, a circus troupe awaits the arrival of the mysterious Rupert who is to deliver them from danger into a better world. The old and wise tightrope master keeps a watchful, loving eye on his young apprentice who, to his concern, could be drafted into the army at any moment. To make matters worse, the boy falls in love with a mermaid...

The story of a man who was wrongfully imprisoned and spent six years behind bars, only to be released after his innocence was proven, is told through the lens of black humor, highlighting the flaws in our country's justice system, prison practices, and human rights issues.

In the movie, the life of a singer who has problems with her husband is narrated. Belgin, who works at a night club as a belly dancer, is taken to the police station due to an inspection. Ali, owner of a casino, rescues him, hence they get closer. Belgin, after quitting dancing and starting singing, marries Ali. After a while, Ali’s ex-girlfriend appears and this damages their relationship. Meanwhile, Ali disappears as his business goes worse and Belgin starts to work with a manager who opens her the way leading to fame. Ali, who returns after a while, starts to intervene to Belgin’s life.

Produced, written and directed by Yılmaz Güney within his own personal experiences of capital offense, he dedicates Duvar to male teenagers aged 13 to 19 living behind the bars under diabolical treatments. These teenagers get barbaric corporal punishments, injurious harrows, tortures and sexual abuses just for taking the responsibility of their destiny on a wrong turn.

His name is Carl Hamilton from a Swedish noble family - trained by the CIA and a army SEAL. When a group of terrorists based in Sweden threatens to initiate their diabolic plans - the Coq Rouge Carl Hamilton is activated.

This Israeli-made film is set along the battle-torn West Bank. Military governor Makram Khouri tries to flush out some fugitive PLO activists by hanging the rotting, stinking carcass of a dead donkey in a village square. Israeli doctor Rami Danon forgets his animosity towards the PLO and, out of compassion, cuts the carcass down. For disobeying Khouri's orders, Danon becomes as much a fugitive as the Palestinians. While in hiding, Danon befriends Arab hermit Tuncel Kurtiz, whose adopted son is a member of the PLO.

Two brothers meet again after a few years away from each other. Jerry has been in prison for petty crimes but has now decided to try to live honestly and build a family. Kiljan is a dreamer who lives a life of a bohemian.

The famous Swedish Karoliner army has suffered its biggest defeat ever at Poltava in 1709. The Swedish king Karl XII is waiting in the small village of Bender for the Turkish sulton to help him defeat his arch enemy, the czar of Russia, Peter the Great. But the Turks think he's an expensive guest and want him out of Turkey. However, he refuses. The sultan then decides to send Karl XII a princess to marry him, to get him out of the country (a bride for a bribe). The two Swedish soldiers Lagercrona and Kruus are to escort the princess. They experience many different adventures on their way to Bender, namely because other Swedish soldiers and agents try to stop them from ever reaching the village, because they don't want Karl XII to leave Turkey. After their long adventure to get there and a few misunderstandings, the famous "kalabalik" of Bender, where the Turks decide to drive Karl XII out of Turkey by force, begins.

The tragic story of three farm worker who migrates from their village to the cotton land Çukurova.

The story of an impossible love in the Occupied Territories between an Israeli officer and a Palestinian teacher, both torn apart by conflicting loyalties.

After losing one of his horses in an accident, an illiterate horse cab driver sets out into the desert in a quest for a mythical lost treasure.

Based on real events, this story traces a young district governor’s moral awakening as he confronts a powerful landowner in rural Adana. What begins as a routine bureaucratic act soon turns into a struggle to shield villagers from exploitation, greed, and the threat of malaria.

A group of illegal immigrants are brought to Stockholm in a bus by a smuggler who takes all their money and passports, and then runs away.

Because of a local blood feud, a peasant family decides to sell its sheep - a most precious commodity - in far away Ankara. During their long train ride, bribes must be paid to petty officials, sheep are stolen or die in the packed, airless wagons, and the sick wife of one of the family's sons becomes deathly ill.

Frau Kutzer und andere Bewohner der Naunystraße features the war-widow Frau Kutzer, the philosopher-guest worker Niyazi, as well as other characters passing through the street. The street itself bears silent witness to the deferred good life of the laborer. If Germany is “a little America,” as the narrator tells us, could there have been a “German Dream” for the migrant worker? Or is Berlin-Kreuzberg rather the site of an ongoing nightmare filled with the specters of Germany’s past? How do stories of place and of people converge on Naunystrasse? And how does this documentary speak to us today?

In Deliviran, a village near Urfa close to the Syrian border, Hidir’s chief is involved in smuggling and gets shot. Hidir tries to stay out of illegal activities but circumstances contrive to push him in the opposite direction until he accepts to take a herd of sheep across the border.

No synopsis available yet.

A love story begins in an Istanbul bookstore. A young engineer meets a schoolgirl in her final year of studies. He follows her to her home. The next day, he looks again for her, and again and again. Slowly, he overcomes her shyness to win her affection, and finally her love.

No synopsis available yet.

The film follows the lives of those who immigrate to the city, leaving their families behind. Ahmet and his friends came to the city with great expectations, but soon confront the difficulties of adjusting to life there. After days of job hunting, they finally find employment in the harbor.

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The film tells the story of a gang leader who helps in the national struggle. Paşa receives gold from foreign powers in order to neutralize the National Forces. Meanwhile, Captain Murat, gang leader Kuduz Recep, and his men raid Paşa's house. They seize all the gold and set off for Ankara. Kuduz Recep says he cannot continue on the journey because he was wounded in the raid. He takes the gold and flees with his men. Captain Murat pursues Kuduz Recep and his men. Hamza, one of Recep's men, takes advantage of Recep's injury, ties him up, and throws him into the river. He hides the gold and takes over as the leader of the gang. Captain Murat finds Recep in the river and they begin searching for Hamza together. Captain Murat is killed during a clash with Hamza's men. Meanwhile, Recep finds Hamza and takes the gold. He will then set off to transport the gold to Ankara.

It tells the story of how Murat's life changed when he was caught committing a robbery. While searching for a way out of his poverty, Murat gets involved in Yusuf and Sabri's robbery plans. They promise not to betray each other if they get caught. Murat is caught at the last moment. He takes all the blame and is sentenced to twenty years in prison. Yusuf and Sabri break their promise and do not visit Murat in prison. Murat spends years waiting for the day he will be released. During this time, Yusuf and Sabri invest the money they earned and become wealthy. When Murat is released, he demands a share not only of the money from the robbery but of everything they own. When Yusuf and Sabri refuse, a bitter struggle ensues between them.

No synopsis available yet.

Loosely based on "The Girl Hunters" written by Mickey Spillane. After many years on a drunken binge over the disappearance of his love, Murat (Ayhan Isik) is picked up out of the gutter by the police and dropped smack-dab in the middle of a political bombshell.

The film is about a cop who switches places with a criminal who robbed a bank. Yılmaz Ali stole a bunch of gold from the bank. He left the gold with his wife Türkan and went abroad. He is attacked by a gang who are after the gold. While in the hospital, he calls for Metin, a police officer who looks exactly like him. He tells Metin that he left the gold with his wife and asks him to take revenge on the gang. Metin returns to Istanbul using Yılmaz Ali's identity. Metin will try to find the gold and take down the gang.

The story of a detective trying to solve the mafia showdown.

No synopsis available yet.

The story of a journalist and a prostitution ring that leads young girls astray. Faruk, who is married to the daughter of a media mogul and has one child, also works as a writer for the newspaper. His research topic is a gang involved in trafficking women. Coincidentally, Gülsen's sister has gone missing.

Raised on the mountain like a son, Alicik's path intersects with pure and clean mayfly. The love between the two becomes a challenge to life.

Duygu Sagiroglu, known as an art director, depicts the class conflict and exposes the injustice and contradictions of the modern Turkish life. Yilmaz Güney confirms his acting qualities with a pathetic composition.

No synopsis available yet.