The threat of death lurks around every corner in Cinema Jazireh, whether in the form of the Taliban or the desert. The second feature from Turkey’s Gözde Kural (Dust) is set in Afghanistan and will world premiere on Thursday as one of the 12 titles in the Crystal Globe Competition of the 59th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF).
Produced by Kural, Milad Khosravi, and Bulut Reyhanoğlu, the movie stars Feresteh Hosseini (Parting, Tsunami), Mazlum Sümer, Ali Karimi, Hamid Karimi, Meysam Demanze, and Reza Akhlagrad.
The challenge facing the film’s protagonist is immense. After surviving her family’s massacre, Leila’s only goal in life is to find her son, Omid. “In a country where being a woman means being less than nothing, her chances are desperately slim,” notes a plot description. “Kural applies her familiarity with Afghan society in order to tell a story of oppression.”
Indeed, Leila chooses a brave and very dangerous path of transformation. “Even the slightest hesitation can mean death,” highlights the synopsis.
“’Nothing is as it seems’ perfectly captures the Afghanistan experience,” Kural says in a director’s statement. “When I first set foot in the country, I was overwhelmed by fear – fear of the unknown, of isolation, of my own inexperience. That initial fear was visceral, and yet strangely magnetic. Over time, it evolved, deepened, and began to take root. Twelve years have passed since that first encounter, and while the fear still lingers, Afghanistan has become an obsession—a place I return to, again and again, both physically and inwardly.”
The trailer for Cinema Jazireh has just debuted, and it shows off a pervasive sense of claustrophobia and fear. We also meet Leila, get a first feeling for her desperation, and get a glimpse of her all-or-nothing transformation.
Watch the Cinema Jazireh trailer below.
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