Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan in LA

LOS ANGELES – Anadolu Agency

AFP Photo

To mark the 100th anniversary of Turkish cinema, Turkey’s Palme d’Or Award winner filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan attended the screening of his film “Kış Uykusu” (Winter Sleep) at the Los Angeles Museum of Arts (LACMA) Bing Theater on May 6. 

Hosted by the US cinema critic and LACMA film curator Elvis Mitchell before the screening, Ceylan spoke about the shooting of “Winter Sleep,” which won the Palme d’Or Award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. 

When asked about Russian writer Anton Chekhov and his novel “The Wife,” which was the source of inspiration for the film’s script, Ceylan said he was a keen reader of Russian literature and read Dostoyevsky and Chekhov. 

“I read the novel when I was 25 and was really impressed. I wanted to adapt the story to cinema but I waited for the right time. When I felt I had enough experience as a director, I started working for the film,” he said. 

Speaking about his jury membership at the festival, Ceylan said it was an exciting process to compete in the festival but it was “joyous” to be a jury member. 

The events for the 100th anniversary of Turkish cinema will continue with the screening of Turkish films at the University of California (UCLA). Ceylan will meet the audiences at the various screenings.