Hasret - Yearning Germany, Turkey 2015 | 82 min | OV with German subtitles | Colour and B&W | FF 2015

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Director
Trailer

Ben Hopkins

Apart from working as a director, Ben Hopkins (*1969) also writes novels and screenplays. He became known for his films Simon Magnus (1999) and The Nine Lives of Thomas Katz (2000). His film Welcome zu Karastan was shown at Filmfest Hamburg 2014.

A film crew is commissioned by a broadcasting company to make a film about Istanbul. Viewing the material one day, the director sees shadows and shapes that he hadn't noticed on the shoot: it's as if the camera has captured some ghosts. The idea fascinates him and becomes an obsession. The director goes back to the old town and films more material at night in the hope of finding more ghosts. Not sharing his obsession, the crew soon get fed up, so he carries on alone. His journey takes him through present-day Istanbul and into the past. He witnesses quarters being destroyed and rebuilt, meets migrants and activists from the protest movement. His pictures and encounters come together to form a magically melancholic portrait of the city on the Bosphorus.

Website: www.hasret-derfilm.de