88 festivals and counting for Emre Kayis' THE TRANSLATOR

Students from The London Film School have produced a vast array of short films and documentaries that have gone on to do extremely well at festivals around the world. Though the success of Emre Kayis and his film, THE TRANSLATOR stands out for many reasons. One such reason is, to date, the short film about a 13 year old refugee boy, Yusuf, living in a small Turkish border town has been screened at no less than 88 festivals, picking up a total of 16 awards:

Kayis’ main inspiration for the film was the final line from Charles Baudelaire's poem THE ALBATROSS: His wings, those of a giant, hinder him from walking. Kayis says: "I can compare Yusuf to an albatross captured by sailors and removed from his own environment. I see him as vulnerable and as beautiful as like that.” Living in exile with his grandparents, Yusuf works on a sand quarry to support his family.  The environment of the poor neighbourhood and quarry are hostile, and Yusuf spends his days in complete alienation. The only things still exciting him are the tumbling pigeons and the existence of a 15-year old girl, Amina, who has absolutely no idea who he is. Yusuf keeps dreaming of her, until one day she asks him for help. Whilst this puts him in a position of unique power, Yusuf has to make a decision on how to use this power.

Despite the vast number of selections, there is one that stands out for Kayis. "I think the European Film Awards nomination was very important. It provided the film with a better festival circuit. It also helped me to get attention for my feature project. The working title is ANATOLIAN LEOPARD. Set in Turkey, it will be a drama with black humor elements. My intention is to take on [the] emotional world of people who were squashed under the spirit of the time...similar to the sad story of this nearly extinct animal which is indigenous to Anatolia." 

Click here to see trailer of the film that’s been setting festivals alight around the world, and here to see a Behind The Scenes video.

Written by Ben Corbett

Photo Credit: Nick Cooke