The book chapter titled “Hybrid Narrative Experiments in Nuri Bilge Ceylan Cinema: The Example of About Dry Grasses,” co-authored by Asst. Prof. Emre Doğan (IGU FFA) and Asst. Prof. Murtaza Talha Altınkaya (Dokuz Eylül University), has been released. The study examines the transformation of narrative structure in Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s cinema through the lens of the director's latest film, About Dry Grasses.
Included in the book titled Hybrid Cinema, published by Doruk Publishing, the chapter opens a discussion on the hybrid narrative experiments in Ceylan’s cinema that transcend classical storytelling conventions. The research analyzes the multi-layered structures, long dialogue sequences, self-reflexive breaks, and the permeable boundaries between reality and fiction that have become increasingly prominent throughout the director’s filmography.
The study particularly emphasizes how About Dry Grasses develops an aesthetic strategy that, while maintaining a character-centered dramatic structure, simultaneously invites the audience to become aware of the narrative’s construction process. The core axes of the hybrid narrative discussion are formed by the occasional interruptions in the film's flow, the unfolding of characters' inner worlds through long and philosophical dialogues, and the fact that visual composition plays a role as decisive as the dramatic structure itself.
This book chapter is significant for evaluating Ceylan’s cinema not only within the context of national cinema but also within the framework of the transformation of narrative forms in contemporary world cinema. While revealing the director's aesthetic evolution through the concept of hybrid narrative, the study also offers a theoretical discussion on how narrative boundaries are expanded in modern cinema.
