The Bride Turkish Film

THE BRIDE (Gelin) at Boston Turkish Film Festival

The Bride, which depicts the struggles of a migrant Anatolian family to adapt to and survive in the very different conditions of urban Istanbul, is one of the best presentations of internal migration in Turkish cinema. It is also the first, and most accomplished film in Ömer Lütfi Akad's celebrated trilogy, which with The Wedding (Dügün, 1973) and Blood Money (Diyet) has earned a respected place in world cinema for its thematic unity.

The Bride masterfully exposes the evolution of 'little Anatolia' in Istanbul, a phenomenon that would go on to acquire far larger dimensions.The streets of Istanbul are paved with gold - or so people believe…

The Bride portrays the migrant mentality with disarming realism: the unfaltering determination to build a 'present' and 'future' in the big city, even if that means selling everything back home. And the exceptional performance of Hülya Koçyigit in the role of Meryem reinforces the pathos.

Here is a film of 'one-way' journeys: we see the young Meryem lose her ailing son as life grows ever harsher; we follow her to the local factory, where she eventually signs on; we watch parallel developments in the family she married into. And their respective odysseys are central to the 'great leaps forward' of Turkish cinema at the beginning of the 1970s.

• Directed by Omer Lutfi Akad
• Cast: Hulya Kocyigit, Kerem Yilmazer, Kahraman Kiral, Ali Sen, Aliye Rona, Kamuran Usluer, Nazan Adali, Seden Kiziltunc
• 1973, 97 minutes
• In Turkish with English subtitles
• Festivals and Awards: Best Film, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor Awards in the Golden Cocoon (Altin Koza) Film Festival, Adana, Turkey
• Saturday, April 2, 11:00 am

About the Director: Omer Lutfi Akad

Born in 1916. He studied Economics. After working in the banking sector as production chief and accountant, he debuted as film director with Kill the Whore (1949).

With his films, he established a unique style for Turkish cinema and became one of the pioneers of the period called Directors' Generation. In the seventies he realized the famous trilogy The Bride / The Wedding / The Sacrifice which is considered his masterpiece.

Afterwards, forced by the unfavorable conditions, he withdrew from the cinema. He directed some adaptations for TV. He taught at the Cinema and TV Institute of the Mimar Sinan University.

Visit our Boston Turkish Film Festival Page for more films and festival information.

Here is detailed information about movies, and also Boston Turkish Film Festival program:

• Dry Summer Turkish Film - Susuz Yaz
• The Girl With The Red Scarf Turkish Film - Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalim

For more information about the festival and other movies, please visit http://www.bostonturkishfilmfestival.org/