‘New Dawn Fades’ Explores Insanity as “a Social Construct,” With Istanbul as a Main Character

Turkish writer-director Gürcan Keltek (Meteors, Gulyabani) has thus far targeted on shorter movies and documentaries. On Thursday, he introduced the world premiere of his fiction function debut New Dawn Fades (Yeni șafak solarken), a contemplation on sanity, to the competitors program of the 77th version of the Locarno Movie Competition.

The movie’s cinematographer is Peter Zeitlinger (Encounters on the Finish of the World), identified for his collaborations with the likes of Abel Ferrara, Ulrich Seidl, and particularly Werner Herzog. The film’s solid consists of Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, Ayla Algan, Erol Babaoğlu, Suzan Kardeş, Dilan Düzgüner, and Gürkan Gedikli.

“New Dawn Fades reflects on the idea of insanity being another social construct, portraying the main protagonist’s last days before a mental breakdown,” the press package for the film highlights. “It has been years since Akın has been in and out of the hospital. He is relentless, angry, and shell-shocked from being stuck in the system. Since his discharge, he is well aware that his old life is long gone. He has become unable to leave his family house except for occasional visits to religious monuments in Istanbul. During those visits, he falls into a state of ecstasy as he tries to take refuge in God. These divine structures trigger something in him. As he loses touch with his true self, his mind shifts into another reality.”

Try a teaser for the movie under.

Earlier than his arrival in Locarno, Keltek took time to talk to THR’s Georg Szalai through Zoom about how the film advanced from a documentary to a fiction movie, the significance of Istanbul as a character, how key the sound and music (from British creator Son of Philip) are to assist discover the protagonist’s frame of mind and his ideas on sanity and faith.

You might have largely completed documentary work thus far. Why did you determine to alter issues up and take a fiction method to your new film?

After I was pitching this movie initially, it was about a actual character I used to be hanging out with him. As a documentary filmmaker, I needed to point out the viewers how a [mental health] assault takes place over a couple of days and the way these assaults are available in waves. So this was my first plan. Then my principal character had a actually troublesome interval. He couldn’t exit, he couldn’t meet with folks. He has these fears and visions in his head. So I couldn’t make it occur.

Then, I made a decision to make a fiction movie. However coming from documentary filmmaking, the methods of fiction filmmaking don’t come naturally to me. The entire thing modified financially, with the actors and all the things. So I simply needed to experiment with the thought of bringing a documentary concept to the desk and making a fiction movie out of it.

Due to that, we shot it like a documentary really. We went into a majority of the places, some very non-public and particular locations, in Istanbul like a guerrilla. So we shot there, and we acquired actual reactions. Additionally, I let accidents occur that ended up within the movie, for instance, a few of the folks’s reactions, and actors’ reactions. So, I began it as a documentary, then jumped to a fiction movie, and I ended up with this. It took 4 years, and it turned out extra emotional than I used to be planning it to be.

What drew you to the topic of sanity?

To begin with, it’s a common topic. Each household has a number of relations affected by it, and it doesn’t matter what sort of social or ethnic background you’ll have. It’s common. I additionally needed to dig into some stuff in my nation. For instance, I used to be questioning sanity and the way we go about it, each socially and politically. I believed I might use psychological well being or madness as a metaphor for some form of political commentary. However I didn’t need to make a immediately politically themed movie as a result of I used to make political documentaries, so I didn’t need to go into direct political commentary. I simply needed to depart some stuff open so that individuals might speculate and focus on.

It’s additionally a good topic to query the place we’re going as a inhabitants basically. I’ve this drawback in my household too. I’ve skilled since my childhood some members of my household coping with [mental health], so I needed to discover this topic. I consider it’s crucial how we see ourselves as a sane particular person or an insane particular person, and who decides that. And I additionally needed to discover how folks can get caught within the [mental health care] system in the event that they go into a remedy course of. Typically, that makes issues worse.

So additionally, that topic was necessary for me to to make connections between turning into an artist and preserving your sanity.

So that you needed to additionally discover the definitions of sanity and the way they rely upon society or tradition?

How we determine if a explicit particular person is insane or not relies on the tradition. I additionally thought turning into insane could also be one of the best ways to cope with immediately’s social local weather and emotional buildings, wherever we could reside. I additionally needed to make a commentary that we as a complete are shedding our sanity and the way we understand actuality. We in some way have misplaced consensus alongside the best way. So the entire system has grow to be insane. So I simply needed to create this world to replicate on these concepts.

Istanbul is a principal character in your movie. We see the protagonist strolling and biking by means of town, and its landscapes appear to replicate his frame of mind…

Sure, Istanbul is likely one of the characters within the movie. When the principle character sees the massive Byzantine or Muslim buildings in Istanbul, big divine buildings, it in some way triggers one thing in him. He desires to be a part of one thing holy however he isn’t. He’s principally refusing the truth that he’s simply an bizarre particular person with psychological instabilities. He desires to think about himself as a actually particular particular person. In these sorts of conditions, artwork and madness are coming from the identical supply. And faith can be coming from the identical supply. Delusions of grandeur are coming from the identical place. He desires to see himself as necessary. And when he goes to these locations, he feels necessary and particular. Accepting the truth that the alternative is true may be very troublesome for him. That’s why movie depends on structure, the outside and different actual places in Istanbul. When folks have these psychotic assaults, typically they’ll’t keep in. They really feel some form of cabin fever. So he’s all the time out, he’s all the time on the run. What he experiences is principally some form of out of doors paranoia.

You might have touched on this psycho-geographic method in previous movies, proper? A few of these scenes of the protagonist shifting by means of Istanbul in New Dawn Fades really feel very lengthy, which I assume you probably did for a motive…

It’s a topic that I’m attempting to know and dig into. And I agree with you that a few of the scenes are longer than they need to be. His understanding of time is completely different from ours. So typically he spends a lot of time in these locations, longer than a vacationer or native would as a result of he’s ready. He’s attempting to take refuge in God and he’s in search of a signal to hold onto in order that he can create his personal narrative in his thoughts. The movie is principally the theater of his thoughts.

He’s imagining a cult. Istanbul’s historical past begins with the pagans after which goes on to Christians and Muslims. You may see all of those faces there. The archeological website we see within the final scene of the movie, they only found, and it’s a pagan place. It’s the inspiration of Istanbul. They are saying that when the primary pagan clergymen got here there, they turned blind as a result of it was so stunning. But it surely was a very fashionable tradition for that age, they even had a lot of recent instruments and stuff like that.

However there’s a spiritual side to the entire metropolis which you can see there, there are nonetheless traces of Christianity and paganism, and for the reason that Ottoman Empire all this Muslim custom. So there’s this psycho-geographical side of Istanbul. I’d say Istanbul is the principle character within the movie. It’s there with its magnificence and ugliness and chaos and blended social bag.

[Spoiler warning: the next two questions and answers include some details about the end of the film.]

Because you talked about the ultimate scene. There are 4 characters, together with the protagonist, and they’re reciting a textual content. Is that this one thing that you simply wrote or that got here from scripture or different sources?

I created it myself however with [input]. Within the Turkish credit for the movie, I point out this. I used some quotes from some writers I like. There’s the Turkish creator Murathan Mungan, a well-known poet, and I used a quote from his newest novel. Additionally, there’s a well-known quote from one other Turkish author known as Tezer Özlü. I lower issues up and put them collectively to create a feeling as a result of I need the viewers to know that that is his thoughts speaking. He creates these things in his head. There’s additionally a quote from British nature author Robert Mcfarlanecfrom his stunning e book Underland. So the ending is a combination of all of these items.

After I noticed the movie, I believed: “What just happened?” And Iater discovered myself attempting to recite a few of these traces from the top of the film, which appeared like a mantra…

I’m glad to listen to that as a result of I used to be attempting to create this sense of “what was that!?” I needed to go someplace that is still unexplained and mysterious, perhaps even supernatural. I’m signaling some issues to the viewers, such as that they converse with their minds, not with their mouths. The thought got here whereas I used to be taking pictures. I had that picture in my head for a very long time, however I simply did it instinctively on set.

The sound within the movie can be usually eerie and haunting and consists of what appears like ghostly voices and different parts. Are you able to inform me a bit concerning the significance of sound for New Dawn Fades?

I labored on the sound design for a 12 months. I put a lot of issues in there, which I took from current recordings. However I additionally employed this nice artist from Italy, Attila Faravelli [for atmosphere design and sound effects editing], and he got here to Istanbul. He recorded the vast majority of the stuff with our sound engineer on set. So I used a few of the older recordings I discovered, however then we created the entire thing through the sound design course of. You may hear that sounds are there, however you can also’t say what it’s and what’s occurring. The entire thing was created artificially, however there are bits in there which can be actual, as a result of I needed to create one thing not acquainted to the viewers. I didn’t need them to know what was being whispered and if [characters] converse with the useless or hear from the useless.

All that undoubtedly left me feeling unsettled from the very starting of the movie…

There’s a motive I began the movie at Hagia Sophia. It’s an previous cathedral. It’s a image of the Jap Roman Empire and Christianity. So there’s a non secular which means for Christians in that exact constructing. However then it became a mosque. And ultimately, it became this complete political factor for many years, for hundreds of years. So it additionally turned a image for Muslim folks. It’s a holy place for everyone. And all people agrees that every one spirits reside there.

So for me, it was handy to begin there with the principle character, and he’s listening to voices coming from the stones as a result of the stones have reminiscence. He begins to listen to that, and that is the second that triggers his assault. All of it begins there.

How did you determine what method to take to the problem of faith within the film? It looks as if you current varied faiths…

For me, the thought was by no means to get into one explicit faith. It’s quite common for individuals who have psychological well being struggles to return nearer to God or faith. It doesn’t matter which background you come from – folks attempt to take refuge in God as a result of they really feel alone and so they really feel helpless. My character has a Bohemian, bourgeois background as a result of he’s an actor and does theater, so he’s an informed man, however he finally ends up in search of God and faith. So I’m implying that faith might feed madness. But it surely was additionally necessary for me to make connections between turning into an artist and preserving your sanity.

However my preliminary thought was to place him in a place the place medicine don’t work, remedy doesn’t work, and his household is basically irritating to him so he’s having conflicts with the household on a regular basis. So he begins to consider that he’s nearer to God. I didn’t need to present it in a Muslim approach or a Christian approach. As an alternative, I needed to combine varied issues in. It’s a little bit of all the things, identical to in Istanbul.

The music from Son of Philip provides to the general temper of the movie. How did you meet him and determine to have him contribute his cinematic digital sounds to New Dawn Fades?

I’m a large fan. I used to be listening to a James Holden DJ set on BBC Radio 6. And I heard this track and thought: “Who the fuck is this?” And I went to BBC web site and checked the tracklist, and discovered it was from Son of Philip. So I contacted him. He’s an digital music producer and label proprietor from Nottingham and he had by no means completed movie music earlier than. However he has this nice ear for movie music. I felt it. I simply gave him some instructions, and it turned out actually, actually stunning. I needed to additionally use digital parts within the movie, as a result of the principle character has a narcotic expertise. The medicine usually are not efficient for his head and his mind chemical substances. So he hears one thing very human, but in addition very digital and mechanical. There’s a repetition side to madness. You’re going round in circles on a regular basis, at the very least in an summary approach.

One of many nice issues about Son of Philip is that he’s not even conscious how gifted he’s. He simply did it. I simply gave him some instructions, after which he got here up with one thing stunning. Initially, I really needed to make use of music from some nice digital artists, like Aphex Twin and Autechre and different folks I like. After I advised Son of Philip, he advised me: “Okay, you mentioned some heavy hitters here. How can I match them?”

However he understood what I used to be attempting to do. Placing an digital rating in a movie may be very troublesome. However on this case, I consider it labored as a result of his music has such depth and character and in addition one thing very human and heat. There’s this lengthy piece known as “Infinity,” which I take advantage of within the movie, that has this repetition and one thing like krautrock, and previous samples. And it turned out nice.

After I contacted Son of Philip, I requested him about his track within the Holden set. I requested: “what is it?” He stated it’s unreleased, it’s from my first album. Then I instantly needed to make use of it. He’s a genius. I like him. I’m so glad that we labored collectively. I most well-liked to go on an digital music producer as a substitute of a movie composer as a result of there’s a movie composer within him.

Are you able to discuss your subsequent or future tasks but?

I’ve nearly completed enhancing a movie known as Horde, which I shot throughout COVID. It began as some form of documentary, however I feel it ended up a little bit of each, documentary and fiction. I acquired one other couple of months of labor to do with sound design and all the things. So I’m engaged on that.

What’s it about?

It’s about these two characters who’ve a funeral of their households, and so they refuse to go. It portrays that exact day. It’s about funerals, it’s about grieving, and it’s fairly completely different from New Dawn Fades. For instance, the digital camera by no means strikes. There are lengthy static pictures.

I additionally wrote this script for what can be my second fiction movie, known as Destroyer, and I’m engaged on that too proper now. We’re looking for a option to finance it.

What is going to Destroyer be like?

It’s a form of movie noir in up to date Turkey, and it’s a bizarre spy movie. I all the time needed to make a movie noir. It’s a style I’ve actually, actually cherished since my childhood. I believed it may very well be attention-grabbing to do a movie noir in a society like this. We acquired nice examples of movie noir in Turkish cinema too. For instance, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s As soon as Upon a Time in Anatolia. That is a completely different form of style movie I need to experiment with.