press clippings

.... Bu akşam verilecek ödüller ne olursa olsun, Türk sineması açısından önemli bir yıl yaşadık. Ceylan, ya da kısa filmi 'Poyraz' ile yarışan Belma Baş sahneye çıkamasalar bile, yaratıcı Türk sinemasında gözlemlenen yeniden doğuş, uluslararası düzeyde kendini kanıtlamış bulunuyor.

[.... No matter who wins the award tonight, this has been a significant year for Turkish Cinema. Even if Ceylan, or Belma Bas with her film 'Boreas' in the shorts competition, might not walk up to the stage at the ceremony, the creative rebirth of Turkish Cinema manifested itself on an international scale.]

Mehmet Basutçu, Radikal, May 28, 2006
reporting from Cannes Film Festival

.... The section that gave me most pleasure, however, and that offers very encouraging signs for future Balkan film production, was the shorts competition. There were a dozen delights, from the textures of Turk Belma Bas's 'Boreas' to the threat of Hungarian Tamas Kemenyffy's 'Lucky Man'.

Wally Hammond, Time Out London, September 6, 2006

reporting from Sarajevo Film Festival

.... Seçkin imajlar havuzu. Belma Baş'ın ilk yönetmenlik denemesi Poyraz hafif hafif eserken bir resim çiziveriyor. On üç dakikalık bu film, Karadeniz'in doğasından, yaşlı bir evin koridorlarından, odalarından yola çıkarak, küçük bir kızın gözünden hayatın akışkanlığına fantastik bir bakış atıveriyor. Tarkovsky'nin kamerasını anıştıran dinginlikte yol alan film, orta yerinde direksiyon kırıyor ve tahmin edilebilir olmaktan uzaklaşıp puslu görüntülerinin hakkını vererek puslanıveriyor, tahmin edilemez, dille ifade edilemez bir hal alıyor. Hikaye görüntü oluveriyor, görüntü dile geliyor.

[ .... A pool of exceptional images, Belma Bas' directorial debut breezes a picture on the screen through a gentle brush of the wind. Impelled by the natural beauty of [Turkey's] Black Sea Region and interiors and hallways of an old house, this 13-minute film fantastically depicts the flux of life from the viewpoint of a little girl. The film begins serenely suggesting a Tarkovskien cinematography, but unexpectedly changes course towards the halfway becoming as vaguely cloaked as the misty landscapes running on the screen, going beyond the realm of language: in such a way that the story mutates into images and images cease to be mute.]

Deniz Buga, Altyazı, July-August 2006

.... With poetic cinematography and a deeply personal love for her characters, Belma Bas tells a slightly surreal fairytale. A little boy and his old mother live on the isolated Turkish countryside, at the banks of the Black Sea. Through the boy’s eyes we see his discoveries of life and death and get to share his pain of growing up. The surroundings are dark yet beautiful, in a world where time stands still. Bas hints towards storytellers such as Bergman, Dickens and Tarkovsky in this mysterious story set somewhere between dream and reality.

Natalie Majerski, Stockholm International Film Festival 2006

... There are another two visually breath-taking works that are refreshing and ethereal. In Boreas (2006), the Turkish director Belma Bas delves into the mystery of life and death through the life of a boy who lives with several of his aged relatives. The other is Ana Prieto's Silence which resembles a short poem.

ZHENG Li-Ming, Women Make Waves Film Festival 2006

... Ma in assoluto l'ultimo giorno, domenica pomeriggio, ha riservato le perle migliori. Due cortometraggi di altrettanti Cinematografie emergenti o incomprese al grande pubblico occidentale, "Poyraz" di Belma Bas dalla Turchia e "Girni" di Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni dall'India.

[.... But absolutely the last day, Sunday afternoon, was reserved for the best pearls: Two short films with as much emerging or incomprehensible cinematographies to the general western public, "Poyraz" by Belma Bas from Turkey and "Girni" by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni from India.]

Andrea Mugnai, kulturadimazza
reporting from Cork Film Festival 2006

.... Participating in the festival with her short "Boreas," Director Belma Baş said she has chosen, as her main character, a child whose sex is impossible to tell. She said she did this deliberately, to study when the sexual identity is placed on a person. She added this was a topic she would like to expand upon in her future films. Baş also expressed that not only men, but also women pressure other women. Saying that she has seen many strong women, or "Amazons," in her own words, she added, "Pressure toward women not only stems from men but also women themselves. The pressure of the mother-in-law on a bride is much heavier..."

Yasemin Sim Esmen, Turkish Daily News, March 8, 2007
reporting from FILMMOR Women's Film Festival press conference