An incredible story. A man who changes radically his life to live in the most rumored Istanbul area, Tarlabasi.
Right in the center of Istanbul, there remains an originally Armenian district, Tarlabasi, where poor people of all origins live together. It is easy to hide here and that is why Mustafa (not his real name) chose to live there. Like many, he earns his living rummaging in the trash. The student youth may mobilize to defend Gezi Park, real estate speculation is gradually destroying the city center. At the opening of the film, a clip produced for Istanbul's candidacy for the Olympic Games boasts a festive city combining Western modernity and picturesque Eastern. Marianna Francese and Jaad Gaillet enter the other side of this mirage. At night, the alleys of Tarlabasi are the scene of police repression which crushes the young protesters - under the placid eye of Mustafa and his neighbors who no longer have any illusions. While waiting for their neighborhood to be handed over to the wreckers, they cling to it, happy to be able at least to eat and sleep. The vagaries of life, including prison, made Mustafa a philosopher. He has learned to rejoice in the little he has, never to complain about a destiny in which he does not believe. A few friends to sing, drink and joke with are enough to cheer it up. While Tarlabasi survives the night, a fragile place of poetry and freedom, by day the backhoes strive to make Istanbul conform to its advertising image.—Eva Segal (Images de la Culture - CNC)
Tarlabasi and MeRight in the center of Istanbul, there remains an originally Armenian district, Tarlabasi, where poor people of all origins live together. It is easy to hide here and that is why Mustafa (not his real name) chose to live there. Like many, he earns his living rummaging in the trash. The student youth may mobilize to defend Gezi Park, real estate speculation is gradually destroying the city center.At the opening of the film, a clip produced for Istanbul's candidacy for the Olympic Games boasts a festive city combining Western modernity and picturesque Eastern. Marianna Francese and Jaad Gaillet enter the other side of this mirage.At night, the alleys of Tarlabasi are the scene of police repression which crushes the young protesters - under the placid eye of Mustafa and his neighbors who no longer have any illusions. While waiting for their neighborhood to be handed over to the wreckers, they cling to it, happy to be able at least to eat and sleep. The vagaries of life, including prison, made Mustafa a philosopher. He has learned to rejoice in the little he has, never to complain about a destiny in which, moreover, he does not believe. A few friends to sing, drink and joke with are enough to cheer it up. While Tarlabasi survives the night, a fragile place of poetry and freedom, by day the backhoes strive to make Istanbul conform to its advertising image.
From the interview with Eva Segal (Images Culture - CNC):
What is it that makes this character so endearing to you?He is extremely human and vulnerable. And unpredictable. What touched us was that he bared himself, maybe not completely, but it had been seven years since he had shared anything. Its contradictions also make him fascinating. He is a man who fights with himself. One day he told us, "I feel like I'm sleeping with the devil. I fall asleep with one idea and wake up with another entirely different idea. " For us who were very young at the time (23-24 years old), Mustafa represented at the same time a big brother, an uncle, a character like the one of Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese). In a way, he was in charge. He lived entirely to the rhythm of the city. He never slept. In the summer of 2013, amid the protests in Gezi Park, the city never slept either. Our shoot had to adapt at all times as much to him as to the chaos of the political situation.
