In the Blind Spot
In the Blind Spot (German: Im toten Winkel) is a 2023 German mystery thriller film[1] directed and written by Ayşe Polat. Starring Katja Bürkle, Ahmet Varlı, Çağla Yurga and Aybi Era, the film is about Melek, a 7–year–old Turkish girl and her father Zafer, who are drawn into a complex net of conspiracy, paranoia and generational trauma.[2] It is selected in Encounter at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 19 February 2023.[3][4]
In the Blind Spot | |
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Directed by | Ayşe Polat |
Written by | Ayşe Polat |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Patrick Orth |
Edited by | Serhad Mutlu, Jörg Volkmar |
Music by | Dynamedion |
Production company | Mitosfilm |
Distributed by | ArtHood Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 118 minutes |
Country | Germany |
Languages |
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Synopsis
In a remote Kurdish village, in northeastern Turkey, a documentary is shot by German film crew. They spot an old woman performing ritual to memory of her missing son. In the village, Melek, a 7-year-old Turkish girl lives, whose nanny is the Kurdish translator of the film crew. Zafer, her father works for an ominous group. When she apparently get haunted by unknown power, he gets caught between loyalty to them and fear for his family's well-being. This eventually developes into a ruinous force. The film unravels a complex net of conspiracy, paranoia and generational trauma.
Cast
- Katja Bürkle as Simone
- Ahmet Varlı as Zafer
- Çağla Yurga as Melek
- Aybi Era as Leyla
- Maximilian Hemmersdorfer as Christian
- Nihan Okutucu as Sibel
- Tudan Ürper as Hatice
- Mutallip Müjdeci as Hasan
- Rıza Akın as Burhan
- Aziz Çapkurt as Eyüp
Reception
Vladan Petkovic for Cineuropa wrote, "The film combines its key cinematography with smartphone videos and hidden-camera footage, which makes it feel expansive and rich on the surface, but the overly tidy editing makes the film's structure too obvious, stripping it of movie magic."[1]
Accolades
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
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Berlin International Film Festival | 26 February 2023 | Golden Bear Plaque | In the Blind Spot | Nominated | [7] |
References
- Petkovic, Vladan (22 February 2023). "Review: In the Blind Spot". Cineuropa. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- Polat, Ayşe (10 February 2023). "In the Blind Spot". Cineuropa. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- Ntim, Zac (23 January 2023). "Berlin Film Festival: Sean Penn, Philippe Garrel, Margarethe Von Trotta & Christian Petzold In Competition — Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- Azad, Navid Nikkhah. "Ayşe Polat's IN THE BLIND SPOT, debuted in 2023 Berlinale's Encounters, unravels a complex net of conspiracy, paranoia and generational trauma - Deed News". www.deed.news. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- "Im toten Winkel" [In the Blind Spot]. Crew United. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- "Im toten Winkel, Deutschland 2021/2023 Spielfilm" [In the Blind Spot, Germany 2021/2023 feature film]. filmportal.de (in German). Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- Ramachandran, Naman; Vivarelli, Nick (23 January 2023). "Berlin Film Festival Reveals Competition Lineup (Updating Live)". Variety. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
External links
- In the Blind Spot at IMDb
- In the Blind Spot at Berlinale
- In the Blind Spot at ArtHood Entertainment