''Burning Days'' ( tr, Kurak Günler) is a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

drama film, directed by

Emin Alper Emin Alper (born 13 August 1974, Karaman) is a Turkish filmmaker and historian. His directorial debut, ''Beyond the Hill'' won the Caligari Film Prize in the 62nd Berlinale and Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. His second feature ''Fren ...

and released in 2022. The film centres on Emre (

Selahattin Paşalı Selahattin Paşalı (born 2 February 1990) is a Turkish actor. Life and career Paşalı was born on 2 February 1990 in Bodrum. He joined Darüşşafaka Sports Club at the age of 14 and served as a team captain during his time there. He comple ...

), a lawyer newly appointed as the state prosecutor in a small drought-ridden town plagued by sinkholes, who is drawn into political conflicts around local corruption, with his authority challenged both by being drugged at a party where a young woman named Peknez (Eylul Ersoz) was raped, as well as by allegations that he is having a sexual relationship with Murat ( Ekin Koç), the editor of the local anti-establishment newspaper. The cast also includes Erol Babaoglu, Erdem Senocak,

Selin Yeninci Selin Yeninci (born 16 January 1988) is a Turkish actress. Life and career Selin Yeninci was born on 16 January 1988 in Istanbul. Yeninci graduated from İzmir Atatürk High School in 2006, where she was the student head of the theatre departm ...

, Sinan Demirer, Nizam Namidar,

Ali Seçkiner Alıcı Ali Seçkiner Alıcı (born 3 July 1965) is a Turkish musician and actor. Life He was born on 3 July 1965, in Kars. In 1985 graduated from the Music Education Department of Gazi Üniversitesi. After 4 years of music education, he became a me ...

, Onur Gürçay, Mehmet Kervanci, Hatice Aslan, Gönenç Acaroglu, Salih Aydin, Tuncay Demiras, Mustafa Elma and Enver Husrevoglu.

Distribution

The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard program at the

2022 Cannes Film Festival The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival is an upcoming film festival scheduled to take place from 17 to 28 May 2022. The festival will see a tribute to actor Tom Cruise, whose film '' Top Gun: Maverick'' is due to premiere at the festival. The off ...

, where it was a nominee for the Queer Palm. It had its Turkish premiere at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in October 2022.

Controversy

In December 2022, well after the film had already premiered both at Cannes and Antalya, the Turkish General Directorate of Cinema demanded repayment of the production funding it had granted to the film.Ben Dalton
"Turkish government demands repayment of funding from Queer Palm-nominated ‘Burning Days’"
''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'', December 13, 2022. Although they did not officially state a reason for the demand, it was believed to relate to the controversy around the film's LGBTQ themes.

Awards

Özcan Vardar and Eytan Ipeker won the European Film Award for Best Editor at the

35th European Film Awards The 35th European Film Awards, presented by the European Film Academy to recognize achievements in European filmmaking, took place at the Harpa Conference and Concert Hall in Reykjavík, Iceland on 10 December 2022. According to the academy, film ...

. The film won nine awards at Antalya, including Best Director (Alper), Best Actor (Paşalı), Best Supporting Actor (Babaoğlu), Best Cinematography (Christos Karamanis), Best Music (Stefan Will), Best Editing (Vardar, İpeker), the Turkish Film Critics’ Association Award and the Cahide Sonku Award (Çiğdem Mater).Vassilis Economou
"Özcan Alper’s Black Night emerges victorious at the 59th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival"
''Cineuropa'', October 10, 2022.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 14859416 2022 films 2022 drama films 2022 LGBTQ-related films Turkish drama films Turkish LGBTQ-related films French drama films French LGBTQ-related films 2020s Turkish-language films 2020s French films 2020s LGBTQ-related drama films