Directed by Emre Kayis • Drama • With Uğur Polat, Ipek Türktan, Tansu Biçer • 2021 • 109 minutes
Fikret (Uğur Polat) is a melancholic divorcé who leads a lonely life. Dedicated to his work of 22 years, he is the director of Turkey’s oldest zoo.
Like much of the country, the institution is undergoing a process of privatization, but one obstacle stands in the way: its oldest inhabitant, the Anatolian leopard, an endangered species indigenous to the region and protected by law. Though boiling on the inside, Fikret keeps his brewing discontent at the sweeping conservative reforms bottled.
On New Year’s Eve, he finds himself paying a visit to the leopard, though he soon realizes his old friend is bereft of life. Determined to hide the inconvenient truth, Fikret and his assistant Gamze (Ipek Türktan) conspire to fake the leopard’s escape, setting in motion an absurd charade that inevitably turns the ensuing capture attempt into a three-ring circus while rousing Fikret’s long-buried idealism.
Director Emre Kayiş’s debut feature is a sharp metaphor for the contemporary Turkish state, challenging us to fight for what we believe in before it’s too late.
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Becoming Animal
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An inspired collaboration between filmmakers Emma Davie (I Am Breathing) and Peter Mettler (The End of Time) and radical writer and philosopher David Abram ("The Spell of the Sensuous"), Becoming Animal is an urgent and imme...
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Cat City
Directed by Ben Kolak • Documentary • 2023 • 78 minutes
Cat City chronicles Chicago's love/hate relationship with feral cats. It tells the story of Chicago's outdoor cats and the communities who look after them.
What is the right way to care for feral cats and who gets to decide? A ground-break...
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Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
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Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo delves into the mystery of Japan's age-old love affair with insects. From the first fabled emperor who dubbed Japan the "Isle of the Dragonflies," to the cricket-selling businesses of the ...
