ZEKI DEMIRKUBUZ

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Biography:

 

Demirkubuz dropped out of high school, and started working in a textile workshop. Then, he worked as a street vendor for some time. After the 1980 coup d'état, he was imprisoned without trial for three years at the age of 17 for alleged communist activities. Following his graduation, he became involved with movie making. After working as an assistant director, he established his own production company, called "Mavi Film". Uncompromising and fiercely independent, Demirkubuz controls almost every aspect of his films, making few concessions to prevailing trends.

 

Demirkubuz refers to Dostoevsky in his cinematographic mentality. His scenarios grow on the ethical dilemmas of the human condition. He usually uses basic concepts, such as love, passion, self-sacrifice, and the absurdity of life and death.

 

Read more on Wikipedia   |   Official Site   |   Filmography on IMDb   |   Read an interview "Jail made me a film director"

Selected Films

Inside (Yeraltı)  dir. by Zeki Demirkubuz (2012, 111 min., Turkey) In Turkish with English subtitles

 

Muharrem pressgangs his old friends into inviting him to dinner, no matter that he hates and is hated by them. The dinner starts off with a few harmless gibes and trivial shows of bravado; but as time wears on, the conversation progresses into the inglorious past.

 

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Inside (2012) on IMDb

Envy (Kıskanmak)  dir. by Zeki Demirkubuz (2009, 96 min., Turkey) In Turkish with English subtitles

 

It's the 1930s. The Republic Day Ball is in progress in Zonguldak, a coal mining town in Turkey. Among the invited guests are the newcomers to this small and boring town: Halit, an engineer; his gorgeous wife Mükerrem, and Halit's sister and unwanted household member Seniha. During the ball Seniha realizes she would be the one who determines the destiny of beauty. The film is based on Nahit Sirri Orik`s novel.

 

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Envy (2009) on IMDb

Destiny (Kader)  dir. by Zeki Demirkubuz (2006, 103 min., Turkey) In Turkish with English subtitles

 

Kader (Destiny) tells the story of the younger years of two characters we met in Masumiyet (Innocence, 1997), the director`s second film. Bekir falls in love with Ugur. Ugur is in love with Zagor, who can`t seem to stay away from trouble. Zagor is arrested after getting involved in the murder of two police officers. Initially, this event gives some hope to Bekir, but it turns out to be the beginning of an incurable illness in the pursuit of merciless love that would last for years. As Bekir follows Ugur like a stubborn dog in run-down hotels, marijuana parties and seedy nightclubs, love grows with pain, poverty, tears and evil.

 

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Destiny (2006) on IMDb

The Waiting Room (Bekleme Odası)  dir. by Zeki Demirkubuz (2003, 92 min., Turkey) In Turkish with English subtitles.

 

Ahmet is a film director, considered by others to be an idealist and as someone who lives for his principles. He considers himself to be an arrogant non-believer. Ahmet wants to adapt Dostoyevski`s Crime and Punishment to film. Feeling groundless indifference towards his film project and his lover, Serap, he lives like a hermit in his apartment. As events develop, his assistant, Elif, is doing pre-production work for the film and searching for an actor to play the novel`s protagonist, Raskolnikov.

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The Waiting Room (2003) on IMDb

Fate (Yazgı )  dir. by Zeki Demirkubuz (2001, 120 min., Turkey) In Turkish with English subtitles.

 

Yazgı (Fate), which Zeki Demirkubuz loosely based on Albert Camus` novel "The Stranger", tells the absurd, irrational story of a man who has causeless feelings of guilt, and refuses to exert his will.

 

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Fate (2001) on IMDb

Confession (Itiraf)  dir. by Zeki Demirkubuz (2001, 90 min., Turkey) In Turkish with English subtitles

 

Harun, a rich and successful engineer, finds out that his wife, Nilgun, is having an affair. At first, he is reluctant to confront her and hides what he knows. Time passes with a painfully slow pace; the uncertainty is unbearable. Finally, he decides to make Nilgun confess. The night turns out to be long. As the couple, who have been married for seven years, proceed into the darkness of human-ness, it becomes impossible for them to recognize each other. Pleading mixes with violence; tears with screams.

 

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The Confession: Tales About Darkness II (2002) on IMDb

The Third Page (Üçüncü Sayfa)  dir. by Zeki Demirkubuz (1999, 92 min., Turkey) In Turkish with English subtitles

 

Isa, a walk-on in movie productions, is blamed for a fifty-dollar robbery in a mafia-rooted environment. As a result, he is badly beaten and given twenty-four hours to return the money. Instead of finding the money, Isa finds a gun. He decides to commit suicide. Just when he is about to pull the trigger, the doorbell rings…

 

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Üçüncü Sayfa (1999) on IMDb

Innocence (Masumiyet)  dir. by Zeki Demirkubuz (1997, 105 min., Turkey) In Turkish with English subtitles

 

Yusuf, released from prison after having served a ten-year sentence, goes to Izmir to visit his sister. Facing past family troubles and having no other place to go, he settles down in a cheap, run-down hotel. Soon, his path crosses with that of a strange family. In Yusuf’s struggle to survive, Bekir, Ugur and their daughter, Cilem, are initially a glimpse of hope, which, later on, turns into a devastating destiny.

 

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Innocence (1997) on IMDb

Block C (C Blok)  dir. by Zeki Demirkubuz (1994, 90 min., Turkey) In Turkish with English subtitles

 

Tulay, whose unhappy marriage is disintegrating, lives in a modern apartment complex. Halit, an employee of the complex, spies on Tulay and watches her every move. One evening, when Tulay returns home, she witnesses her maid Asli and Halit making love in her bed. This moment would be the beginning of an unconscious search for Tulay, whose daily life gradually mixes with her perceptions and fears.

 

View Trailer       View Film on Apple TV

Block C (1994) on IMDb

We are currently seeking more links to complete films by Zeki Demirkubuz:

 

 

Ember (Kor) (2016, 145 min.) View Trailer

 

Nausea (Bulantı) (2015, 112 min.) View Trailer

 

Inside (Yeraltı)  (2012, 107 min.) View Trailer

 

 

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