PANDORANIN KUTUSU

Turkey, France, Germany, Belgium

Synopsis

When three forty-something siblings in Istanbul receive a call one night that their aging mother has disappeared from her home at the western Black Sea coast of Turkey, the three set out to find her, momentarily setting aside their problems. As the siblings come together, the tensions between them quickly become apparent, like Pandora’s box spilling open. They come to realize that they are very ignorant about each other. And more so, they are forced to reflect on their own shortcomings

Director's Statement

PANDORA’S BOX is a story of alienation and isolation. It is a story of individuals whose lives have been shaped by a sterile middle-class morality. It is a story that many people, in developing and/or developed countries touched by the inevitable combination of capitalism and modernity, can identify with. It is a kind of human landscape, both universal and singular at the same time ... Modern individuals Lost idealism that is insidiously replaced by conformism. Elitist intellectuals whose living space has been narrowed because of their concessions to the Status quo and to the slick politics that are strangers to reality. Contemptuous attitude towards “other people”, prejudices, hypocrisy. Depressions, escapism, nihilism. Class differences and class conflicts. False relationships. Lack of communication. Sense of guilt. Fear and loneliness ... In short, everything pertaining to modern individuals is hidden in this Pandora’s Box. Our story begins with every day life in the centre of Istanbul, a city in which the very modern and the very traditional, in every sense of the word, are completely intertwined. And then the story continues on through the journey of three people to the western part of the Black Sea region, which is characterized by coal mines and a working class way of life. This journey turns into an inner journey where the three protagonists sort out the conflicts long-kept in their subconscious, and confront the reality of themselves. The cast consists of professional actors and ordinary local people.
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Yeşim Ustaoğlu

Written by: Yeşim Ustaoğlu, Sema Kaygusuz

Produced by: Yeşim Ustaoğlu, Muhammet Çakıral, Serkan Çakarer, Behrooz Hashemian, Setareh Farsi, Natacha Devillers, Catherine Burniaux, Michael Weber, Tobias Pausinger

Cinematography: Jacques Besse

Cast: Tsilla Chelton (Nusret), Derya Alabora (Nesrin), Övül Avkiran (Güzin), Onur Unsal (Murat), Osamn Sonant (Mehmet)

Nominations and Awards

  • Feature Film Selection 2009