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New York, November 17, 2009– The American Turkish Society and the Moon and Stars Project present the 11^th New York Turkish Film Festival, a breathtaking selection of contemporary films coming out of Turkey. Opening Wednesday, December 2^nd at the SVA Theater and continuing through Saturday, December 5^th, this year’s festival offers an exciting line-up that presents the most current examples of Turkey’s thriving film industry.

As evidenced by the attention garnered by directors such as Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Fatih Akin in international film festivals, Turkish film has come far in recent years. Many of the films in this year’s line-up have won awards on the international film circuit, but many of them are unknown in the U.S. The American Turkish Society and the Moon and Stars Project are excited to present these talented filmmakers to a New York audience.

Presented in conjunction with “Octet: Codes and Context in Recent Art,” an exhibition of works by faculty, students and alumni of the BFA Fine Arts Department at the School of Visual Arts, the festival opens with Atalay Tasdiken’s Mommo: The Bogeyman, based on the true story of two siblings in the authentic landscapes of Cavus village, near Konya in central Turkey. The lonely struggles of the youth also find voice in Black Dogs Barking by Mehmet Bahadir Er and Maryna Gorbach, this time in the outskirts of Istanbul, where two best friends’ dreams of wealth turn to nightmares with the local mafia.

Ozcan Alper’s psychological drama Autumn, set against the post 90s modern realities and urban dysfunction, presents an unlikely affair between a young former political activist, just released from prison, and a Georgian prostitute at the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. The sense and meaning of family is explored at Reha Erdem’s My Only Sunshine and Yesim Ustaoglu’s Pandora’s Box, both of which tell the story of young teenagers and grandparents. The festival will close by a truly inspiring documentary by Kazim Oz’s The Last Season: Shawaks on the life of members of the nomadic Shawak community living in villages of near Tunceli in Eastern Turkey. 

Filmmakers and actors of the films being shown will attend the film festival.

The 11th New York Turkish Film Festival and parallel film festivals in Madison (WI), Milwaukee (WI) and Seattle (WA) have been made possible through a generous grant by the Turkish Cultural Foundation. The New York Turkish Film Festival was sponsored by The Marmara Manhattan, Turkish Culture and Tourism Office, Ramerica International and FedExTurkey.

Founded in 1949, The American Turkish Society is America’s oldest not-for-profit organization seeking to enhance economic, political, and cultural ties between Turkey and the United States.The Moon and Stars Project is dedicated to promoting greater cultural interaction between the United States and Turkey, and fostering mutual understanding and respect between different nations, cultures, and religions. Starting in December 2009, the Moon and Stars Project will operate as the arts and culture program of The American Turkish Society.

Media contact: Doga Kayalar, (212) 583-7617, doga@moonandstarsproject.org