HUDUTLARIN KANUNU
Scen., Dial.: Ömer Lüfti Akad, Yilmaz Güney; F.: Ali Ugˇur; Mo.: Ali Ün; Mu.: Nida Tüfekçi; Int.: Yilmaz Güney (Hidir), Pervin Par (Ayse, l’insegnante), Hik-met Olgun (Yusuf), Erol Tas¸ (Ali Cello), Tuncel Kurtiz (Bekir), Osman Alyanak (Dervis Aga), Aydemir Akbas (Abuzer), Atilla Ergün (Zeki, primo luogotenente); Prod.: Dadas¸
35mm. D.: 74′. Bn
Film Notes
Turkish cinema in Sixties took place in a dream world. The movies of that era re- fused to look directly at Turkish society. Hudutlarin Kanunu, on which Yilmaz Güney met director Ömer Lüfti Akad, is one of the movies that changed this state of affairs. Akad’s genuine creative vision in uenced Güney’s style as an actor: one can easily see the difference in Güney’s acting before and after Hudutlarýn Kanunu. Akad’s in uence was a positive one…
Güney’s natural performance marked a change in Turkish Cinema. This was the beginning of what would later be called “New Cinema” in Turkey. With its pow- erful cinematography and its direct and realistic depiction of social problems, Hudutlarin Kanunu is one of the early milestones of Turkish cinema. Given the manner of storytelling and the style of photography, one might almost say that Akad’s lm is a Western.
Hudutlarýn Kanunu depicts vital problems 168 in the society of South East Turkey. Lack of education, no agriculture, and unem- ployment compelled people to live by the “law of the border” (Hudutlarin Kanunu) – in other words, smuggling. Hudutlarin Kanunu underlines the importance of ed- ucation, which is the crucial element of socio-economical progress in third world Countries. It also helps us to understand the reasons behind the ongoing, veiled war along Turkey’s South-East border. Forty ve years ago, Ömer Lüfti Akad was alerting Turkish society of the likely con- sequences if preventive measures are not taken in time. He alerted us with a great and lasting lm, Hudutlarin Kanunu. Fatih Akin
Ömer Lüfti Akad Hudutlarin Kanunu comes as a revelation to rst-time view- ers – a work of great visual and dramatic force, of terri c purity and ferocity. It was made during the year that its star and co- screenwriter, Yilmaz Güney, made his own directing debut. And it’s not surprising for rst time viewers to learn that this stun- ning collaboration marked a shift in Turk- ish cinema, and ushered in what became known as “the director generation.” Once again, the World Cinema Foundation’s advisory board member Fatih Akin has brought us a great and inspirational lm. Kent Jones, WFC Executive Director
Restored by World Cinema Foundation at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory.
The restoration was made possible through the use a positive print provided by Nil Gurpinar, daughter of the film’s producer, and held by the Turkish Ministry of Culture. As this print is the only known copy to survive the Turkish Coup d’Etat in 1980 – all other film sources were seized and destroyed – the restoration required a considerable amount of both physical and digital repair. The surviving print was extremely dirty, scratched, filled with mid-frame splices and sadly missing several frames. Although the film was shot in black and white, it was also printed on color stock resulting insignificant decay. Finally, the first reel was missing and a Betacam was used instead. The restoration work was carried out at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory and will produce a new 35mm dupe negative. The World Cinema Foundation would like to specially thank Fatih Akin for recommending this title, and Ali Akdeniz and Nurhan Sekerci for facilitating the restoration process.