Seçim Trailer – Official Selection – Turkey

Synopsis :

Atay, a middle-aged man, auditions for the role of a hitman. Although Atay puts on a very professional performance, he can't impress anyone. A much younger candidate with poor and exaggerated performance gets the part. When Atay learns of his rejection, he must make a choice; one possibility being he replaces his gun’s blank magazine with a magazine full of real bullets.

Biography director:

ENG - He was born in 1982 in Izmir, Turkey. He has an undergraduate degree from WP Carey School of Business in Arizona State University. He received his MBA from LaSalle University in Philadelphia. He also attended Ege University in Turkey for his second graduate degree majoring in Radio, TV and Film. After living and working in different countries, he quit his 'white collar' business life in 2017, focusing on his childhood dream: movies. He completed his first short film, a thriller named Efsun in the summer of 2019. Efsun received several awards and screenings internationally. His first novel was published in 2021. And his second short film project, 'The Choice' was awarded with a production grant by Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Directorate of Cinema Office. He finished his second short film 'The Choice' in May 2022. Bahri is currently living in Izmir, Turkey and working on his first feature film project.

Director statement:

ENG - I believe that the choices we make are the paving stones of our lives. I have always questioned how much of those stones are paved with our own free will. In this film, I intend to focus on the theme “choices” by caricaturing the protagonist Atay. In 2012, as a white collar who had graduated from fine schools and working at a fine job, I entered into a phase of questioning my choices. The last school I graduated and the job I worked had become part of my life by the direction of people around me. Direction was the softer version of imposition. The repeated emphasis of that I was good and successful at my work, provided me to condition myself with the thought, "This is what I have to do" until a certain time. This comfortable, safe zone was actually drawing stronger borders with fear and anxiety. The concern of that I might not be successful at other jobs - even though I liked and wanted them – limited me.

Staff:

Bahri Baykal Director

Bahri Baykal Writer

Kemal Çömelek Producer Butterflies - Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival - 2018

Kerem Bürsin Producer Butterflies - Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival - 2018

Bahri Baykal Producer

İbrahim Selim Key Cast "Atay"

Gurur Çiçekoğlu Key Cast "Berk"

Didem Topçuoğlu Key Cast"Şebnem"

Specification:

Project Title (Original Language):Seçim

Project Type:Short

Genres: Drama, Action, Dark Comedy

Runtime: 12 minutes 1 second

Completion Date: July 21, 2022

Country of Origin: Turkey

Country of Filming: Turkey

Language: Turkish

Shooting Format: Alexa Mini LF

Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1

Film Color: Color

First-time Filmmaker: No

Student Project: No