point zero
a short film by Dilara Şahin
Film Title: Point Zero
Production Year: 2023
Production Country: Turkey
Director: Dilara Sahin
Producers: Samican Karatekin & Ezel Ergenekon
Scenario: Dilara Sahin
Original Story: Ayfer Şahin
Original Language: English
Duration: 11.45 minutes
Genre: Short Drama
Director of Photography: Celal Burak Özgül
Editor: Mustafa Doğan
Music: Lars Eriksson
Cast: Remzi Uğur Özger, Güney Ergüney, Dilek Karabulut, Onat Baran, Yaman Tan Solmaz
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
“Evil can not be explained in a rigid framework. Good and evil are socially constructed norms. There would be no such concepts if society hadn’t put up boundaries that separate the right and wrong thing to do. Societal pressures, conditions of life itself and psychology are indispensable factors in the shaping of a culture that not only enables, but justifies evil. There is good and evil in each one of us, this is an ever-lasting part of nature and mankind. And the line dividing good and evil within a man’s heart is thin and easy to cross over. Despite the initial perception, Point Zero is not about a gay pilot who meets a young man in a hotel. The film is much more than this encounter between two people who affect the lives of one another drastically. What we aimed to convey with our film is that a lifetime of enduring societal pressure, homophobia, parental abuse and loneliness can inevitably lead to the birth of an evil persona. The pilot, in that sense, represents the eternal fight between good and evil within a person. As Dostoevsky said: ‘Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him’.”
- Dilara Sahin
FULL CAST & CREW
Crew
Director: Dilara Sahin
Producer: Samican Karatekin
Producer: Ezel Ergenekon
Executive Producer: Mehmet Ali Şahin
Original Story: Ayfer Şahin
Director of Photography: Celal Burak Özgül
Casting Director: Selin Bila
Editor: Mustafa Doğan
Gaffer: Arif Bilbay
Light Assistants: Turan Tütüncü & Ali Şimşek
Camera Assistant: İrem Nur Satıcı
Stylist: Alçin Ateşalp
DIT: Numan Alkan
Location Manager: Samet Atak
Set Grip: Fatih Canıbeyaz
Boom Operator: Mustafa Sürücü
Production: Mehmet Oğuz Şahin
Post-Production: Roots Post Production Company & Rabarba Sound
Color: Ecem Gelgeç
Sound Design: Gökçe Su İyikan
Graphic Designer: Işık Başak Arabacı
Van Driver: Özkan Şahin
Cast:
Pilot: Remzi Uğur Özger
Ruben: Güney Ergüney
Pilot’s Mother: Dilek Karabulut
Young Pilot: Onat Baran
Young Pilot’s Boyfriend: Yaman Tan Solmaz
Extras:
Enes Sarı
Ecemnur Terzi
Orkun Terzi
Ayşegül Ergenekon
Gürkan Ergenekon
Ayfer Şahin
Mehmet Ali Şahin
Burcu Avcı
Alper Şahin
Special Thanks:
Mehmet Ali Makbuloğlu
Kayhan Mutlu (Reserve Cloud Kitchen)
The Gate 30 Suites
Pub Locale Bulvar 216
Roots Post Production
ABOUT
POINT ZERO tells the story of Deniz (Remzi Uğur Özger), a gay pilot who has been subjected to neglect, parental abuse, homophobia all his life. After years of enduring societal pressure, his life is drastically changed one night in a hotel where he meets a young European man. After indulging in drugs and alcohol with Ruben (Güney Ergüney), the loneliness that he has felt his entire life and his past traumas resurface in a cathartic outburst of emotions, which leads him to make an irremediable mistake.
Inspired by the short story by Ayfer Şahin, the film was adapted to the screen and directed by Dilara Sahin.
All of our crew members are defined by their enthusiasm and passion for filmmaking. Many senior members of our crew are first-time filmmakers including the director, the producers and the editor.
IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS
The film is a passion project for the Şahin family:
Ayfer Şahin (the mother) - wrote the original story on which the film was based.
Mehmet Ali Şahin (the father) - acted as the Executive Producer and financially supported the production.
Mehmet Oğuz Şahin (the son) - coordinated and assisted in the production on set.
Dilara Şahin (the daughter) - Wrote and directed the film.
The film is a dream come true for two best friends:
The producer (Ezel Ergenekon) and the director (Dilara Sahin) are best friends, all the way through high school to college, where they were roommates for three years. They have studied Media and Film / Media and Television at the University of Amsterdam, where they laid the foundations of a filmmaking “dream-team”. Later they started working on POINT ZERO together as partners and turned their college dreams into reality.
POINT ZERO will be submitted to numerous acclaimed film festivals all around the world in the period 2023-2024. (Awards and festivals TBA)
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