DOHA: Acclaimed Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan delivered a masterclass as part of the second edition of Qumra.
Ceylan’s interaction with the Qumra audience came after a packed-house Modern Master Screening of his Cannes Jury Grand Prix winner, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, a straightforward tale that rises to be a complex reflection of life.
It left audiences with unanswered questions but Ceylan prefers not to answer them. “I have my answers but I prefer to hide them,” he said.
“Cinema becomes deeper when there is well-controlled ambiguity. I believe that the audiences should find the answers and create the answers themselves. I am not a teacher, am not sure of anything, and I am trying to learn things.”
But that candid talk hides a sharp and decisive mind, as Ceylan doesn’t hesitate to declare: “I don’t do genres. Today, there is pressure on directors to make films on minorities. I don’t feel that requirement. To me, directors must make films that are reflections about life, and stories they feel are important to them.”
Also a photographer, Ceylan was challenged by the possibility that cinema offered to provide “deep and complex reflections of life. It brought out a sense of astonishment in me. Video cameras made the real more surreal”. Earlier, he used to prepare elaborately for his films, said Ceylan. “Today, I am more spontaneous. I like the nice surprises that come at the last minute.”
The Palme d’Or-winning filmmaker said he does not hold on to fixed ideas about any aspect of filmmaking. “I like to be surprised because that is how life is. You change as a person over time, and it reflects on your style. That is not planned. If I want, I can make the same kind of films all over, but that does not motivate me.”
On the challenge of making his Palme d’Or-winning film Winter Sleep, Ceylan said: “The starting point for the film was a story by Chekov. I had it in my mind for 15 years but never felt confident enough to make it until that time.
“We wrote it in about six months. It was a challenging film with a lot of philosophical, heavy dialogue and I was really afraid of that.
“But I need something to be afraid for each film. That is the motivation for me. If you are afraid of something, you work harder. “If there is no danger, you are lazy,” he added.The Peninsula
