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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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Opening August 7, 2009 at New York’s Cinema Village
***Director Abdullah Oğuz and Book Author Ömer Zülfü Livaneli
When 17-year-old Meryem is found disheveled and unconscious by the side of a lake in the countryside, her family believes the worst – that her chastity has been lost. They turn to the ancient principle of “tore,” a strict moral code that condemns Meryem to death. The duty of upholding the family’s honor falls upon a distant cousin, Cemal, who has just completed a brutal tour in the military. Together they embark on a surprising journey across traditional and modern-day Turkey in this unforgettable film. Born in Istanbul in 1958, director/producer Abdullah Oğuz has worked prolifically in Turkish television and is one of the pioneers of the Turkish music video industry. Oğuz made his feature film directorial debut in 2003 with The Ivy Mansion-Life, which was the continuation of a hit television series and the highest grossing film in Turkey that year. His other feature films include Jailbirds (2005) and Kismet (2008). Ömer Zülfü Livaneli (b. 1946) is a popular Turkish musician, novelist, journalist and filmmaker. Published in 2002, Bliss is his third novel and has enjoyed immense international success. It was published in the U.S. in 2006 by St. Martin’s Press. Livaneli is actively involved in the struggle for the prevention of honor crimes and frequently writes about honor killings to create public awareness about the problem. He has been a highly influential political figure in Turkey for the last thirty years, serving in the Turkish Parliament and, since 1996, as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He also composed the music for Bliss. Bliss (“Mutluluk”) Winner! Audience Award, Best Film – Montpellier Int. Film Festival “Traditional and modern mores in contemporary Turkey cross paths in the strikingly lensed Bliss, an upscale drama with shades of Knife in the Water.” –DEREK ELLEY, VARIETY “So unlike a Turkish film, but with a storyline that’s elegantly weaved, and with characters that reflect the spirit of this country’s soil.” –ONUR BASTÜRK, HÜRRIYET NEWSPAPER “Solidly directed, wonderful imagery, fabulous music, and acting that takes your breath away.” “The best Turkish film I have viewed to date.” –HINCAL ULUÇ, SABAH NEWSPAPER “A magnificent dance of love and death... Another pinnacle in the current surge of the Turkish cinema.” –ATILLA DORSAY, SABAH NEWSPAPER “Timely, provocative, stellar and triumphant. Bliss is compassionate and revives the image and circumstances of the women of eastern Turkey that are rarely seen in global cinema.” “The most significant work to emerge from Turkey in the past decade … provocative, thoughtful, heartrending and soul-stirring.” –NP THOMPSON, MOVIES INTO FILM (AUSTRALIA) “A film of beauty, challenge, emotion, tradition and truth; every image in the film is gorgeous. The film is among the most impressive I have ever seen: it is moving, its memory lingers.”
First Run Features has partnered with Gigantic Digital Cinema to premiere Bliss online as a streaming download day-and-date with its opening at New York's Cinema Village on Aug. 7. www.giganticdigital.com More information, including the press kit, photos, and additional playdates, is available at www.firstrunfeatures.com or www.mutlulukfilm.com |
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The most acclaimed Turkish film of the decade – and the one of the first narrative films to tackle the highly charged subject of honor killings – is finally coming to screens in the U.S. Based on the internationally acclaimed novel by renowned Turkish author O. Z. Livaneli and set against the backdrop of Turkey's natural wonders, Bliss is an unconventional road movie that pits tradition against modernity, urban against rural and East against West, all the while refusing to settle for easy answers.