Zeitgeist Films Presents

THREE MONKEYS
A Film by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
In association with Moon and Stars Project

Opening on Friday, May 1, 2009

Cinema Village
22 East 12th Street
(Between 5th Avenue and University Place)
New York, NY 10001
Screening Times: 1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM

&

Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
1886 Broadway
(Between 62nd and 63rd Streets)
New York, NY 10023
Screening Times: 12:15 PM 2:30 PM 4:40 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM

Winner - Best Director Prize; Cannes Film Festival 2008

Three Monkeys (Uç Maymun)
2008 / 35mm / 2.35:1 / 109 min.
In Turkish with English Subtitles

"Turkish thriller is an atmospheric masterclass... This level of screen chemistry is truly rare."
James Christopher (Times)

"The Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan has always struck me as one of cinema's poets. With this movie, however, he looks like one of cinema's novelists..."
Peter Bradshaw (Guardian)

“ … Three Monkeys is a film you digest. It repeats in your thoughts after you've seen it. Much of it works in silence. Characters think their way through it. But you always know what they are feeling. Ceylan is so in tune with his characters, he can write inner thoughts large on screen.  …”
Paul Lynch (Sunday Tribune)

Cast & Credits

Featuring Yavuz Bingöl, Hatice Aslan, Ahmet Rıfat Şungar, Ercan Kesal, Cafer Köse, Gürkan Aydın
Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Written by Ebru Ceylan, Ercan Kesal, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Produced by Zeynep Özbatur
Co-produced by Fabienne Vonier, Valerio De Paolis, Cemal Noyan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan

After his critically acclaimed mood pieces Distant and Climates, Turkey’s leading filmmaker moves in a more plot-driven direction while retaining his mastery of ambience, nuance and astonishing cinematography.

Three Monkeys tells a twisty, nourish tale that opens with an ambitious politician fleeing a hit-and-run accident. Afraid of hurting his election chances, he pays off his chauffeur Eyüp to take the rap. The film concerns the effects of this devil’s bargain on Eyüp’s family as simmering tensions and sexual intrigue wreaks havoc in a household already haunted by hidden ghosts.

A family dislocated when small failings blow up into extravagant lies battles against the odds to stay together by covering up the truth... In order to avoid hardship and responsibilities that would otherwise be impossible to endure, the family chooses to ignore the truth, not to see, hear or talk about it. But does playing “Three Monkeys” invalidate the truth of its existence?

Festivals and Awards

2009 Yeşilçam Awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Hatice Aslan), Best Cinematography,
Best New Talent (Ahmet Rıfat Şungar)
2009 SIYAD Turkish Crictic’s Awards: Best Director, Best Actress (Hatice Aslan), Best Editing,
Best Promising Young Talent (Ahmet Rıfat Şungar)
2008 Cannes Film Festival: Best Director
2008 Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival: Best Director
2008 “Manaki Brothers” Film Camera Festival: Mosfilm Award, Special Mention
2008 Haifa Film Festival: Best Film (Golden Anchor)
2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards: Best Director

Nuri Bilge Ceylan was born in Istanbul in 1959 and was brought up in the rural region of Antelonia. After initially studying engineering, he changed track and studied filmmaking at Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul. An accomplished photographer, he was first noticed for his 1995 short film Koza (The Cocoon), which was a Cannes Film Festival selection, later he shot his first full-length film, Kasaba (The Small Town), in 1997. The Small Town won the Special Prize of the Jury at the Nantes Film Festival, the Caligari Award at the Berlin Film Festival, and the Best Film and Best Cinematography Awards at Cologne Film Festival. Ceylan’s second feature film, Mayıs Sıkıntısı (Clouds of May) won 18 international awards including Best Film at Premiere Plans Film Festival, and the International Competition Section of the 19th International İstanbul Film Festival. Ceylan’s Uzak (Distant) won the Grand Prix and Best Actor Awards at Cannes Film Festival in 2003.

Filmography

1995     Koza  / The Cocoon (short)
1997     Kasaba / The Small Town
1999     Mayıs Sıkıntısı / Clouds of May
2002     Uzak / Distant
2006     İklimler / Climates
2008     Uç Maymun / Three Monkeys

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