Conversation: Emin Alper, Director of Beyond the Hill
14.10.2012 - Sitting with Turkish director Emin
Alper is refreshing. Humble, deep, and passionate about his films,
his heritage and homeland, the director of Beyond the hill
took a few minutes to sit with us and share insight on his film,
which screens in ADFF's New Horizons Competition.
Alper, a university professor at the University of Istanbul, has
always had a love for storytelling. "Growing up, I was always into
fiction. I wanted to be a writer, a novelist; then later at
university I joined the theatre club and started acting; not to
mention how much I loved to watch movies!" He was influenced by a
number of films as a teenager including Emir Kusturica's time
of the gypsies (1988), Uli Edel's Last Exit to
Brooklyn(1989) and Peter Weir's Dead Poet
Society (1989).
Using the beautiful Turkish landscape of Anatolia, Alper creates
a looming ambience in picturesque scenery as a backdrop for his
eerie tale that combines elements from the dark comedy and Western
genres. When he began writing the script, he had this specific
location in mind. "It is very close to my hometown, growing up in
south Anatolia I felt drawn to it. The core of the story is
actually inspired from my childhood memories." Before starting
production on the film, he spent a year planning the setting and
took his crew to select a location specific to every shot.
Alper also succeeds in merging collective global issues like
isolation, dread and secrecy into a bold social and political
allegory that not only reflects the realities confronted in Turkey,
but other deeply rooted conflicts in different societies around the
world. His use of the term 'nomads' to represent a group of people
who intrude on or trespass onto the land of indigenous local
dwellers is canny, as it can be a symbol for this type of dispute
and struggle across the world. Alper says that "Perhaps people tend
to use enemies or 'nomads' as scapegoats, to cover the internal
conflicts of the community itself".
Speaking about the characters in the film Alper says, "The
character of the grandfather is a typical patriarch; it reminds me
a lot of my own grandfather." He also describes the different
characteristics and traits that each generation has. "For example,
as much as the grandfather Faik is devoted to his land and is
continuously unnerved by the nomads, and continuously eager to
protect and defend, his son is almost the complete opposite - a
younger man visiting his father in the countryside just wanting to
relax, lay back and drink".
Winner of the Caligari prize at the Berlinale in 2012,
Beyond the hill was nominated in three categories
including best feature, best screenplay and best actor (for Tamer
Levent) in the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The reception to the
film at various international festivals has been very positive.
"Although some viewers may find the film slow-paced, I feel that
the intertwined story keeps the audience drawn in as mentioned by
many film critics, journalists - a jury members."
Beyond the
hill screens at VOX cinemas on Monday 15 October at 2:15
pm.
Tamara Malhas