HÜMAM ÖZKARA

What inspires your work?

Events I have witnessed, read about, and heard from those close to me.

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What films did you watch as a child?

I usually watch fantasy children's movies, the first movie I watched was Harry Potter, then the Chronicles of Narnia.

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What directors have influenced your work?

I am impressed by Selçuk Aydemir's projects.

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What is one film that you think everyone should watch? And why?

I don't like to talk in sharp lines, so I can't answer this question.

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If you could adapt any book/play/piece of literature, which would it be?

I might consider adapting Alper Canıgüz's children's detective books into movies.

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Who are your favourite writers? (this could be from any format - script, books, poetry etc.)

Agatha Christie, Selçuk Aydemir, Alper Canıgüz, Murat Menteş

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Name a film score that makes you feel something.

Harry Potter.

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Who is an actor that you would love to work with?

Anthony Hopkins, Jim Carrey, Kenan İmirzalıoğlu

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What was the last film you watched? (and would you recommend it?)

"On Your Own Path" I didn't like  very much.

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What is next for you?

Hopefully, I'm getting ready to shoot a new short film.

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​Tell us about your film Life Goes On?  What`s it all about?

A short film about a group of people sitting in a cafe who suddenly and unexpectedly find themselves in the middle of a funeral ceremony.

 

Can you tell us about the creative process in making your film? What drew you to this project?

Surely everyone has thought about death at some point in their lives, and I came across this story during a time when I was thinking about death, and I witnessed death passing right in the middle of our lives when we least expect it, and I wanted to capture this story on film.

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How long does a film like Life Goes On take to make? 

We had a month of pre-production. We had a one-day shooting schedule. After shooting, we completed the editing within a month.

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What challenges did you encounter?

The film's setting is a mosque courtyard. We couldn't get permission to shoot at the mosque where the story actually takes place. Finding a mosque that would fit the story proved very difficult. We searched for days for a new mosque, visiting every mosque in Istanbul. Finding a mosque with a cafe underneath that would fit the story's fabric was a challenge.

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Do you have a favourite moment when filming/creating Life Goes On?

Working with a team of around 60 people on set, on my first project, and these 60 people were waiting for my command, made me very happy to complete the shooting day without breaking anyone's heart.

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How was working with your cast and crew? Do you have any stand out moments?

Only the imam character was a professional actor, the other characters were extras and not professionals, most of them were my cousins, but they all performed better than I expected.

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Can you tell us more about the sound/production/costume design of your film? 

My sister Zehra Özkara took on the art direction of the film, we procured the costumes from an imam we knew, we created the musalla stone by covering an old table from our workplace with marble-patterned wallpaper, it was a project carried out entirely with an amateur spirit.

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Where did you get the inspiration when creating Life Goes On? 

My family and our screenwriter Suat Köçer supported me throughout this process.​​

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Were there any films that inspired you when creating Life Goes On?

No, there wasn't a movie that inspired me completely.

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What have you learnt from making Life Goes On? Would you do anything differently next time?

Since this was my first directing experience, I learned how stressful a film set is for a director, and that working with a lot of extras is incredibly difficult. In my next projects, I want to plan less extras and a longer shooting schedule.