Athens-based Heretic has taken on sales for Aslı Özge’s Berlinale Panorama title Faruk.
A story of gentrification and father-daughter relationships, Faruk is the story of an old man who becomes the protagonist in the film his daughter is making about the impending demolition of his block of flats in Istanbul.
The drama stars Özge’s own father Faruk and is shot in authentic locations and based on real characters and events, and intentionally blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction.
The Turkish-born, Berlin-based filmmaker told Screen the film, which was shot over seven years, is based on her father’s own experience of developers wanting to replace his block of flats in Istanbul. Cast using largely amateur actors, it follows Faruk attending building management meetings hoping to delay the demolition of the building he has been living in for decades.
Özge plays the director portrayed in the film but as a fictional version of herself.
Two of Özge’s films - All Of A Sudden (2016) and Lifelong (2013) – have previously debuted in Berlinale Panorama.
Her most recent film, suspense drama Black Box, premiered at Munich last year and also examined gentrification.
Faruk is produced through Germany’s EEE Films and The Post Republic, Turkey’s FC Istanbul and France’s Parallel 45.
Ioanna Stais, head of sales and acquisitions at Heretic said: “Faruk speaks to us on a personal level, concealing a large story behind its unpretentious filmmaking. Its honesty and wit driven by a unique father figure hooked us from the first minute.”
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