Hayat (2023)

Культовое Кино Hicran runs away from home when she is forced into an engagement with Rıza by her father. Rıza, who thinks that Hicran doesn’t want to be with him, doesn’t care at first. But when it begins to bother him, he decides to confront the situation and embarks on a long search for Hicran in Istanbul. Director’s Zeki Demirkubuz Statement: “In 1985, I had a job hanging advertising posters in gas stations all over Anatolia. At one point on my travels, I found myself waiting for the bus on a deserted road just outside a village. Across the road, I noticed a girl waiting by a small grocery store, as bored as I was. We began by making eye contact and then quickly became carried away by the moment. After a while, a bus turned up. I got on and naturally never saw the girl again. I don’t remember much about the place or how long we were there; but I have never forgotten that encounter, the girl’s loneliness, and the deep pain I felt for no reason.“ “Hayat“ is a story I wrote inspired by this memory, by stories I have experienced, witnessed and heard over the years, and by lifelong observations. Although it may have the look of a youth and family drama set within a specific group of people, it is fundamentally an age-old story about human destiny, our helplessness in the face of it, and the sense of sheer impossibility that goes with it.