The film "Azer", produced and directed by Asst. Prof. Dr. Kemal Çipe who is an academician of Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU) Fine Arts Faculty (FAF), is a medium-length film that deals with three different stories in the main focus of a legacy story.
Stating that he creates layers with symbols, names, actions and dialogues in the film, director Kemal Çipe questions the psychological factors behind the events in social life. Kemal Çipe, who includes psychology-based concepts, theological and mythological narratives in the film, states that he used the Qur'an, Bible, Torah and Mevlana's books while creating the screenplay of the film.
Stating that they shot the film with the logic of a short film, the director Çipe touched upon the layered story of the film and the importance of the layers in the story being met by the audience:
“When you make movies like this, you anticipate that some elements will be foreign to the audience before shooting. You can try to minimize them or remove them completely from the movie. If you want the movie to be successful at the box office, you can't give up on some memorizations. In the short film, on the contrary, you are free. You have no box office worries, memorizations and worries. In this context, even though it is a medium length, Azer was thought and shot with the logic of short film. Layers were created in the story of the movie. Of course, it is important that these layers find a response and make sense in the audience. We're dealing with a crime story at the clearly perceived top layer. In other layers, Adam-Eve and Oedipus appear. Obviously, the audience needs some effort to decode the layers. In this film, we applied a narrative style that the mainstream audience is not accustomed to. Despite this, the film received generally positive reactions from the audience.”
In the cinema, when dealing with a social event, the individuals affected by this event, and when dealing with individual stories, social events that affect the individual take place in the background. Director Kemal Çipe, while mentioning the relationship between individuality and sociality in the movie 'Azer', stated that the projections of society can be seen in almost every detail of the movie:
“Azer is a slightly different film. So we can see both sides in this movie. Generally speaking, although we are telling the story of the individual, there are always evolving movements that we process in the plot. These will definitely be affected by social events as of the period when the film was shot. Apart from the hero, we definitely see the projections of the society in the downstairs neighbor, grocery store and car wash in the movie. If no special effort is made to hide it, the projection of the society is handled in the film(s), even if it is an individual story. Therefore, the films are also documentary films of the period in which they were shot. However, to categorize it, it is mostly the story of the individual that is at the forefront of my films.”
Following the success of the movie 'Azer', which continues its journey in international festivals, director Kemal Çipe, whose new projects are the subject of curiosity, stated that he continues to work on new projects:
“Unfortunately, the film could not participate in festivals in the country as of its duration. Almost all domestic festivals do not include mid-length films. His journey abroad has just begun. In this context, there were good returns in a short time. There may be good returns from different festivals in 2021. The issue of awards is a different matter. I think it is important that the film meets its audience at the primary stage, and if we get awards from festivals afterwards, we wouldn't say no to it. Although awards are motivating, short films are not and should not be films made with awards in mind. I think it goes against your spirit. Without a new project? Someone who loves cinema and makes movies is always in new projects with new ideas. Of course, sometimes it is possible to implement it, sometimes it is not. I continue to work on new projects.”
Erkan Bayfidan was the cinematographer, the sound designer was Mustafa Yazıcıoğlu, and the music was made by Atakan Ilgazdağ for the film "Azer", which includes important names such as Erhan Yazıcıoğlu, Murat Prosciler, Halil Kumova, Bahar Hacıbektaşoğlu, Ali Yaylı and Barbaros Ergün. The premiere of the movie was held at Fitaş Cinema. The film, which premiered at the Antakya Film Festival, was included in the 2021 selection of the Lift Off Global Network after its success in the International Meihodo Visual Media Festival and Asian Cinematography Awards.
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