MOMMO: KIZ KARDEŞIM / MOMMO: THE BOGEYMAN
2009, 94 minutes, 35mm, color;
Turkish with English subtitles
Written and directed by Atalay Taşdiken
Cinematography by Ali Özel
Music by Erkan Ogur
Featuring Elif Bülbül, Mehmet Bülbül, Mehmet Usta
Based on a true story and debuted at the Berlin Film Festival, Mommo portrays the inner world of two siblings: nine-year old Ali and his younger sister Ayse. Rejected by their step mother, the pair decides to move in with Hasan, their crippled elderly grandfather. Filmed in Çavuş village, near Konya in central Turkey, Atalay Taşdiken sheds light on one of modern life’s most tragic realities using locals as actors, and authentic landscapes as the backdrop for the film.
FESTIVALS-AWARDS
2009 14th Nurnberg Turkish Germany Film Festival: Best Film and Best Public Jury Award
2009 16th Adana Golden Boll Film Festival: Best Film in Public Jury Award and Best Supporting Actor (Mustafa Uzunyılmaz)
2009 23th International Festival of Films for Children and Young Adults (Hamedan): Best Director and Best ECO Film Awards
2009 8th International Nueva Mirada Film Festival for Childen and Youth: Best Youth Film and Special Mention Awards
2009 International Children Film Festival, Yarevan (Armenia): Best Film Award and Best Film Award for Children Rights, UNICEF Award
2009 Dadaş Film Festival, Erzurum (Turkey): Best Film Award
2009 Asia Pasific: Nominee for Best Children Film
2009 London Film Festival
ATALAY TAŞDIKEN
Born in 1964 in Beyşehir, Konya, Atalay Taşdiken graduated from Konya’s Selçuk University with a teacher-training degree in physics. In 1991 he began working in advertising where he honed his skills as a dark room technician, media representative, copywriter and creative director. Over the next ten years, he directed over 300 commercials and served as creative director on some 30 product campaigns. He wrote and directed Beş Numaralı Kamp (Camp Number Five), a television film and Turkish-Russian-Uzbek co-production. In 1996, he made the documentary Güneş Bile Zor Ayrılır Bu Şehirden (Even the Sun Is Loath to Leave), a short piece about his hometown, Beyşehir.
FILMOGRAPHY
2009 Mommo