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The Chief: feature film to trace early life of Turkish president The Chief: feature film to trace early life of Turkish president
(about 1 hour later)
Shooting will start next week on a feature film tracing the early career of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , from his childhood in a poor district in Istanbul to becoming the city’s mayor, its producers said on Friday. Shooting will start next week on a feature film tracing the early career of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , from his childhood in a poor district in Istanbul to becoming the city’s mayor.
Reis – meaning The Chief – will star Turkish actor Reha Beyoğlu as the Erdoğan and show his life up to 1999, Turkish media quoted producers Evrensel Medya as saying. Reis – meaning The Chief – will star Turkish actor Reha Beyoğlu as Erdoğan and show his life up to 1999, Turkish media quoted producers Evrensel Medya as saying.
The film will take in Erdoğan’s childhood in the Kasımpaşa district on the shores of the Golden Horn in Istanbul, his spell as Istanbul mayor from 1994-1998 and his imprisonment in 1999, producer Ali Avci said, according to the Anatolia news agency.The film will take in Erdoğan’s childhood in the Kasımpaşa district on the shores of the Golden Horn in Istanbul, his spell as Istanbul mayor from 1994-1998 and his imprisonment in 1999, producer Ali Avci said, according to the Anatolia news agency.
It will be shot in the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the town of Yeni Iskele – known as Trikomo in Greek – where a detailed reconstruction of Kasımpaşa is being built.It will be shot in the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the town of Yeni Iskele – known as Trikomo in Greek – where a detailed reconstruction of Kasımpaşa is being built.
The director is Hüdaverdi Yavuz while child actor Batuhan Işık Gürel will play Erdoğan as a boy. According to Turkish media reports, Özlem Balcı will play his wife, Emine.The director is Hüdaverdi Yavuz while child actor Batuhan Işık Gürel will play Erdoğan as a boy. According to Turkish media reports, Özlem Balcı will play his wife, Emine.
“These days we see characters from global cinema like Spider-Man and Superman, who have never lived, on the T-shirts of our children and sometimes in books,” said Avci. “But we have our own heroes who are alive. The process of this film began with the thought ‘how did they become heroes’? “These days we see characters from global cinema like Spider-Man and Superman, who have never lived, on the T-shirts of our children and sometimes in books,” said Avci. “But we have our own heroes who are alive. The process of this film began with the thought ‘how did they become heroes?’
“Instead of seeing him as the president, people will see Erdoğan as a man who grew up in Kasımpaşa and lived in Istanbul,” Avci added.“Instead of seeing him as the president, people will see Erdoğan as a man who grew up in Kasımpaşa and lived in Istanbul,” Avci added.
Beyoğlu described playing the president as a huge responsibility. “Hopefully I will not put myself to shame, and I will give a good portrayal.”Beyoğlu described playing the president as a huge responsibility. “Hopefully I will not put myself to shame, and I will give a good portrayal.”
With shooting taking place at the breakneck speed typical of Turkish TV series and films, the movie is set to hit screens as soon as 25 March.With shooting taking place at the breakneck speed typical of Turkish TV series and films, the movie is set to hit screens as soon as 25 March.
Erdoğan has dominated Turkey as prime minister from 2003-2014 and now as president. There are already stadiums and institutions named after him, notably in his ancestral region of Rize on the Black Sea and Kasımpaşa.Erdoğan has dominated Turkey as prime minister from 2003-2014 and now as president. There are already stadiums and institutions named after him, notably in his ancestral region of Rize on the Black Sea and Kasımpaşa.
In 1999, he served four months in prison for reciting an Islamist poem, a conviction which also saw him banned from politics until his own party came to power in 2002 and pushed through legal reforms.In 1999, he served four months in prison for reciting an Islamist poem, a conviction which also saw him banned from politics until his own party came to power in 2002 and pushed through legal reforms.