Filmmaker, movie mogul, commercial powerhouse and larger-than-life public persona Sinan Çetin has taken a break from making ads to return to the silver screen with ‘Kağıt’ (Paper), a not-so-subtle autobiographical metaphor about one man fighting bureaucracy to make a film. ‘Kağıt’ is the latest testament to Çetin’s contradictory stance toward the state
 Sinan Çetin's 'Kağıt' (Paper) stars Öner Erkan as Emrah, a young man with a passion to make movies. |
It would be unfair to call Sinan Çetin just a filmmaker, despite the broadness of the term. He has remained a hovering presence over Turkey’s pop culture for two decades whether he makes movies or, as is generally the case, does not. Çetin is a persona who is much larger than the sum of his parts.
It’s a rule of thumb that nearly all popular figures generate their unique brand of devoted fans and followers, along with haters of a similar fervor. With Çetin, the number of fans and followers has diminished and are arrayed against an impressive number of detractors that include other filmmakers, movie critics and viewers.
The director, however, has chosen to show the finger to anyone who deigns to tarnish his work and his persona and has managed to maintain his position in Turkey’s culture scene and his currency among the artistic elite.
Çetin is a director, producer, writer, actor, publisher, commercial powerhouse, movie mogul and a real estate mogul. His directorial debut, “Bir Günün Hikayesi” (Story of A Day), goes back to 1980, when he wowed critics and audience as a promising newcomer.
His subsequent films “Çirkinler de Sever” (Ugly But In Love) and “Çiçek Abbas” (Abbas in Flower), both in 1982, received positive reviews as well. Interestingly, the early 1980s is a period Çetin doesn’t much care to remember yet alone be proud of.
For many, his magnum opus was “Berlin in Berlin” of 1993 when he steered his camera toward Turkish immigrants in Germany, including the groundbreaking masturbation scene of its award-winning leading actress, Hülya Avşar.
Since then he has directed, produced and wrote the occasional blockbuster, as well as the flop. Çetin is now more associated with the hundreds of expensive, extravagant and award-winning commercials he directs and produces. He is also rumored to own half of Istanbul’s Cihangir neighborhood, where his production company Plato Film and film school Plato Okul are located.
Filmmaker in conflict with own history
His latest film, “Kağıt” (Paper), was released last week to audience and critics who had difficulty separating the film’s message from Çetin’s very public persona and personal history.
The film stars Öner Erkan as Emrah, a young man with a passion to make movies. As he directs his debut film, he hits bureaucratic roadblocks, first in receiving a certificate of eligibility to film on the grounds that it threatens the unity of the state, and later when he finally tries to release the film, the shooting of which proved so difficult.
Bureaucrat Müzeyyen (Asuman Dabak) becomes the symbol of Çetin’s dysfunctional and autocratic state, turning every stage of filmmaking into hell. Emrah takes revenge on the woman (i.e. Çetin takes revenge on the state) by kidnapping her.
“Kağıt” carries autobiographical elements from Çetin’s own early filmmaking ambitions, such as the problematic relationship with his strict father, and his mortgaging of the family house for funding. Similar to Emrah’s relation with his father in the movie, Çetin’s public persona has been somewhat built on conflicting dynamics of love and hate, along with authority and father figures.
With the message in “Kağıt” – as well as in all other interviews – Çetin spits venom on the state structure, as well as its destructive authority and control over arts and culture.
Çetin’s past, however, reveals some serious flirtation with the state, from being the advisor to Prime Minister Tansu Çiller in the early 1990s to recently flying with President Abdullah Gül on his business trip to establish relations with Bollywood. So much for boasting at the beginning of the film about not receiving any support from the Culture Ministry.
The film also participated at the recent Golden Orange Film Festival, garnering the best supporting actress award for veteran Ayşen Gruda – the success is an irony for many, however, with Çetin well-known for slinging mud at festivals and competitions.
It’s a rule of thumb that nearly all popular figures generate their unique brand of devoted fans and followers, along with haters of a similar fervor. With Çetin, the number of fans and followers has diminished and are arrayed against an impressive number of detractors that include other filmmakers, movie critics and viewers.
The director, however, has chosen to show the finger to anyone who deigns to tarnish his work and his persona and has managed to maintain his position in Turkey’s culture scene and his currency among the artistic elite.
Çetin is a director, producer, writer, actor, publisher, commercial powerhouse, movie mogul and a real estate mogul. His directorial debut, “Bir Günün Hikayesi” (Story of A Day), goes back to 1980, when he wowed critics and audience as a promising newcomer.
His subsequent films “Çirkinler de Sever” (Ugly But In Love) and “Çiçek Abbas” (Abbas in Flower), both in 1982, received positive reviews as well. Interestingly, the early 1980s is a period Çetin doesn’t much care to remember yet alone be proud of.
For many, his magnum opus was “Berlin in Berlin” of 1993 when he steered his camera toward Turkish immigrants in Germany, including the groundbreaking masturbation scene of its award-winning leading actress, Hülya Avşar.
Since then he has directed, produced and wrote the occasional blockbuster, as well as the flop. Çetin is now more associated with the hundreds of expensive, extravagant and award-winning commercials he directs and produces. He is also rumored to own half of Istanbul’s Cihangir neighborhood, where his production company Plato Film and film school Plato Okul are located.
Filmmaker in conflict with own history
His latest film, “Kağıt” (Paper), was released last week to audience and critics who had difficulty separating the film’s message from Çetin’s very public persona and personal history.
The film stars Öner Erkan as Emrah, a young man with a passion to make movies. As he directs his debut film, he hits bureaucratic roadblocks, first in receiving a certificate of eligibility to film on the grounds that it threatens the unity of the state, and later when he finally tries to release the film, the shooting of which proved so difficult.
Bureaucrat Müzeyyen (Asuman Dabak) becomes the symbol of Çetin’s dysfunctional and autocratic state, turning every stage of filmmaking into hell. Emrah takes revenge on the woman (i.e. Çetin takes revenge on the state) by kidnapping her.
“Kağıt” carries autobiographical elements from Çetin’s own early filmmaking ambitions, such as the problematic relationship with his strict father, and his mortgaging of the family house for funding. Similar to Emrah’s relation with his father in the movie, Çetin’s public persona has been somewhat built on conflicting dynamics of love and hate, along with authority and father figures.
With the message in “Kağıt” – as well as in all other interviews – Çetin spits venom on the state structure, as well as its destructive authority and control over arts and culture.
Çetin’s past, however, reveals some serious flirtation with the state, from being the advisor to Prime Minister Tansu Çiller in the early 1990s to recently flying with President Abdullah Gül on his business trip to establish relations with Bollywood. So much for boasting at the beginning of the film about not receiving any support from the Culture Ministry.
The film also participated at the recent Golden Orange Film Festival, garnering the best supporting actress award for veteran Ayşen Gruda – the success is an irony for many, however, with Çetin well-known for slinging mud at festivals and competitions.
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