Turkish Auteur Yesim Ustaoglu Is Coming Back With Her PANDORA'S BOX

[Once again thanks are due to Zeren for the latest news from Turkey ...]

Yesim Ustaoglu movies may not be getting enough attention from the mainstream audience in Turkey but for sure she's not the one to blame. All four of her movies had critical success and even collected some major awards in international film festivals. With her script for her last film, Bulutlari Beklerken (Waiting for the Clouds), she won the 2003 Sundance/NHK Filmmaker Award. Her sophomore feature Gunese Yolculuk (Journey to the Sun) received the Blue Angel award in Berlin International Film Festival '99. It's now, almost five years later, that she's back in the editing room with the reels of a new movie, Pandora'nin Kutusu (Pandora's Box). Production company, Silkroad Production has announced that the film is currently in post-production. Unlike her last two fiction films which had stories revolving around subjects mostly considered 'taboo' in Turkey, in Pandora's Box, she is placing a non-politicized problem, Alzheimer, in the center of the plot.

The movie is co-produced by 4 companies from three different countries, Germany, France and Turkey. It is financially backed by Eurimages and MEDIA Plus, two major EU support programs for European audiovisual industry. For now the only synopsis I could reach for Pandora's Box is the one from director's 2006 PPP (Pusan Promotion Plan) project submission dossier. More information is soon to be released through Silkroad Production's website.

Here is the synopsis:

It’s the story of Nesrin, Guzin and Mehmet, three siblings who live significantly different lives in Istanbul. Nesrin and her husband have no money problems and actually achieved everything they ever dreamt of. But Murat, their only son, feels suffocated with Nesrin’s love. He is running away from his mother, seeking thrills in alcohol, light drugs, and petty theft. Guzin has become a successful editor-in-chief of a major newspaper but apart from some failed relationships her private life is a completely empty. Mehmet, the youngest, lives a life without any rules. With his nihilistic attitude he spends his days in total oblivion. And despite his painting talent, he mostly paints to buy a few bottles of wine and bare necessities. One day the three siblings set off to look for their mother who has disappeared. After they find her they take her to Istanbul. When they realize she suffers from Alzheimer it is like opening a Pandora’s box. Through their mother’s severe disease they gradually realize that none of them is happy with their lives. Being near their mother again forces all the siblings to come to terms with their own lives.