A short film co-directed by Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Communication Faculty PhD student Vasvi Ciftcioglu is competing at the international festival “Short Shorts & Asia 2016” with the aim of becoming an Oscar nominee. The competition begins on the 9th of June 2016. The short film directed by Dogus Ozokutan and Vasvi Ciftcioglu is titled “Random Attempts” and the leading role in the film belongs to Hatice Tezcan. The three are travelling to Japan in order to take part in the festival.
The Oscars are widely accepted as the most prestigious cinematic event in the world. In order to take part in the American Academy Awards also known as the Oscars a film must take first place in one of 80 film festivals accredited by the Oscars. “Short Shorts” is one of these 80 film festivals. In fact, it is the only Oscar accredited film festival in the whole of Asia. This year Short & Shorts has received 6 thousand applications from 130 different countries. Random Attempts is one of 40 films chosen to take place in the international category of the competition.
So far Random Attempts has been shown in up to 30 international festivals winning three awards, two in the United States of America (USA) and one in Brazil.
Award Ceremony on the 13th of June
The grand opening of the Short Shorts Film Festival took place on the 2nd of June 2016 and the festival is set to last until the 26th June 2016. The selection process for the Oscars is set to begin on the 9th of June 2016 with a party involving international film crews and the winners will be announced on the 13th of June 2016. During the festival Random Attempts will be screened 4 times. The Japanese premier of the film is on Thursday, the 9th of June 2016. The film will also be shown on the 12th, 17th and 19th of June.
Famous Opposition
Random Attempts will be competing with 40 films, including some with world famous directors and actors. Whilst some of the films had million dollar budgets, Random Attempts was filmed without any sponsorship or financial support.
A film titled “The Audition” is the most eye-catching out of the 40 films. Directed by world famous film director Martin Scorsese its cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Brad Pitt. The budget for The Audition was 70 million dollars.
Robert De Niro also takes the lead in “Ellis”, another short film set to be shown at the festival. A film titled “Weighting” will also be shown at the festival. Weighting is the second directorial attempt of last year’s Academy Award Winner for “Best Female Actress” Brie Larson.
Thanks to TRNC Tourism Minister Ataoglu and Prof. Dr. Osam
Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Communication Faculty PhD student and co-director of Random Attempts Vasvi Ciftcioglu thanked TRNC Tourism Minister Fikri Ataoglu and EMU Rector Prof. Dr. Necdet Osam for their financial support regarding travel to Japan.
“Random Attempts”, A Tale Of a Woman Questioning The Meaning of Life
Random Attempts tells the tragicomic tale of a woman who is questioning the meaning of life, and her unsuccessful suicide attempts. The film scripted by Dogus Ozokutan was filmed over a period of three days in Lefkosa and Girne. The crew for Random Attempts also included undergraduate students from EMU Communication and Media Studies Faculty acting as assistants. The film was edited by Pieter Verburg and the music used in the film was composed by Inal Bilsel.
The post-production of the film was completed in October 2015 and its world premiere took place on the 19th of April 2015 at the 48th Worldfest in Houston. Worldfest is the USA’s oldest independent film festival. Here, “Random Attempts” was awarded the “Platinum Remi Award” presented to the best “Dark Comedy” of the festival. In November 2015 “Random Attempts” came first at the 3rd Seattle Turkish Films Festival, which also takes place in the USA.
