European co-productions and film style: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe increasing numbers of co-productions triggered a change in post-1990s Turkish cinema. Countries improved their production conditions and inspired each other artistically while co-producing films together. In this way, the increase in the number of co-produced films in countries with unstable film industries resulted in developments in film production practices, technical quality and financial possibilities, and improved international connections and international film releases and distributions.In the post-1990s cinema in Turkey, some changes can be observed in filmmaking processes of co-produced films. The best example is the change in Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s filmography over the years. His early films such as The Small Town (Kasaba, 1997), Clouds of May (Mayıs Sıkıntısı, 1999) and Distant (Uzak, 2002) are entirely national productions made under the label of NBC Film. He started to work with a producer and became involved in co-productions with his fourth feature Climates (İklimler, 2006). These co-productions not only required a larger cast and crew, they also resulted in changes in his film language and style. Ceylan’s successive films with more complex storylines reveal a distinct change in both the stories and the style of film production he employed.