
ZUHAL
TURKEY, GERMANY – 2021 – DCP – color – 88’
CREDITS:
Direction: Nazli Elif Durlu
Screenplay: Nazl? Elif Durlu, Ziya Demirel
Cinematography: Sebastian Weber
Editing: Buera Dedeolu, Selda Takin
Set design: Sebastian Soukup VSK
Original music: Osman Özcan
Costumes: Selda Durna
Cast: Nihal Yalç?n (Zuhal), Sadi Celil Cengiz (Yavuz), Ça?da? Ekin ?i?man (Arzu), Sena Ba?do?an (Selin), Sencar Sa?d?ç (Berkay), Aysan Sümercan (Fazilet), Serpil Gül, Burcu Halaço?lu (Handan), Sarp Ayd?no?lu (Erhan), Fatih Al (Ozan), ?ebnem Sönmez (Emel), Nur Sürer (Nebahat), Ilgaz Kocatürk
Producer: Anna Maria Aslano?lu in coproduzione con Tanay Abbaso?lu, Jamila Wenske, Tolga Karaçelik, Öykü Canl? Produzione Production: Istos Film in coproduzione con TN Yapim, Achtung Panda!, Karaçelik Film, Yumurta Yapim Sanat
Production: Komplizen Film in coproduzione con Haut Et Court, Frakas Productions, Ndr, Tobis, Mmc Movies Köln, Erfttal Film, Rtbf (Télévision Belge), Proximus, Shelter Prod
International Distribution: Film Republic
SYNOPSIS
Zuhal’s routine is disturbed by a cat’s meow she keeps hearing in her flat. Even though none of the neighbors hears it, she starts aninvestigation in the building in order to find the cat.
THE DIRECTOR: NAZLI ELIF DURLU
Born in Ankara, Turkey. She studied Film and TV in the Netherlands and got her masters degree from the University of Utrecht. Shehas written and directed three short films [Trust Me(2009),Later(2012),The Horse and the Nightingale(2013)]. She teaches at thefilm department of Istanbul Bilgi University.Zuhalis her debut feature film.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
“Zuhal’s ‘well-organized life’ -as a hard working, well educated woman with a good job, a nice flat and a long term relationship- isdisturbed by an unexplainable sound that causes her to embark on a journey inside her apartment building, following a cat’s meow.This journey gets absurd as she can’t locate the source of the meow, also points out how people behave with each other and how theyapproach problems in contemporary Turkey. While using Zuhal’s search for the cat as an element of curiosity, we tell a personalstruggle of a woman, the cost she pays for doing whatever she thinks is right and her transformation at the end of this journey.”
FILMOGRAPHY
2010 Güven Bana (Trust Me, short)
2012 Sonra (Later, short)
2013 Düldül ?le Bülbül (The Horse and The Nightingale, short)
2021 Zuhal
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
2021 Tallinn Black Nights FF – First Features Competition
2021 Antalya FF – National Competition: Best Actress Award
Best Actress Award
2021 Taipei Film Festival
2022 Istanbul Film Festival: Best Debut Film Prize
Best Debut Film Prize
2022 Anonimul FF