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Tuzdan kaide

The Pillar of Salt
Forum 2018
A pregnant young woman who lives in a sort of cave is looking for her vanished sister, yet this plot summary hardly does justice to the charm, richness and radical nature of Burak Çevik’s first feature – all of which a result of the liberties he takes in creating an extravagant cinematic world to tell this story. The protagonist leaves her almost fairytale-like cave to set out across a river, taking up her sister’s trail. This trail leads her to a botanical garden, a bird shop, and a darkroom. The photo lab technician compares the effect of photographs to God turning Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt because she couldn’t resist the temptation of turning around to see Sodom be destroyed. Captured for eternity, transfixed for eternity – should we take it at face value when the protagonist tells the boatwoman that she is a part-time vampire? The dreamlike way in which the film digresses to show us a plant, a strip of negatives, or a table tennis match contributes considerably to the strange fascination it develops. Some things remain mysterious – which only makes us even more curious about what they might be referring to.
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by Burak Çevik
with Zinnure Türe, Dila Yumurtacı, Esme Madra, Banu Fotocan, Elit İşcan, Nihal Koldaş, Reyhan Özdilek, Ayşe Demirel, Nazan Kesal, Nalan Kuruçim Turkey 2018 Turkish 70’ Colour

With

  • Zinnure Türe
  • Dila Yumurtacı
  • Esme Madra
  • Banu Fotocan
  • Elit İşcan
  • Nihal Koldaş
  • Reyhan Özdilek
  • Ayşe Demirel
  • Nazan Kesal
  • Nalan Kuruçim

Crew

Written and Directed by Burak Çevik
Cinematography Burak Serin
Editing Burak Çevik
Music Ozan Tekin
Sound Design Ozan Tekin
Sound Ömür Müldür
Producers Burak Çevik Fol Film, Arda Çiltepe, Semih Gülen, Cem Celai Bilge, Selman Nacar

Produced by

Fol Film

Photos

Burak Çevik

© Edze Ali

Born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1993. He completed his studies in Film and Television at Istanbul Bilgi University in 2016. After his debut, Tuzdan kaide, Aidiyet is his second feature-length film.

Filmography

2018 Tuzdan kaide (The Pillar of Salt); 70 min., Berlinale Forum · Tuzdan kaide (The Pillar of Salt); 70 min., Forum 2018 2019 Aidiyet (Belonging) · Aidiyet (Belonging); 72 min., Berlinale Forum · A Topography of Memory; video, 30 min. 2020 While Cursed by Specters; video, 10 min. 2022 A Woman Escapes; co-directed by Blake Williams & Sofia Bohdanowicz, 81 min. 2023 Unutma Biçimleri (Forms of Forgetting); 70 min.

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023