wednesdays

2008-09-19T19:54:00.001-07:00

News

2008-09-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

-Wednesdays has been selected for the 4th edition of Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (23-27 June, 2009, Israel)
For more information: www.tlvfest.com

-Wednesdays has been selected for the short film competition program of Turin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (23-30 April, 2009, Italy). The two other short films of Deniz Buga, Incomplete Stories of New York and Grasshoppers, will also be screened in the Panorama Section of the Festival.
For more info: http://www.tglff.com/?ida=14136&id_film=90

-A retrospective of Deniz Buga's shorts including Wednesdays will be on the Rainbow section of International Istanbul Independent Film Festival, !fIstanbul. This 75 minute compilation will be featuring the following short films of the Director produced between 2003-2008: Brothers, Sleep, Big Apple, Incomplete Stories of New York, Por El, Wednesdays and Grasshoppers. !fIstanbul takes place in February, 2009 in Istanbul.
For more information: http://2009.ifistanbul.com/filmler/deniz-bugas-shorts.aspx

-Interview with Deniz Buga is on TimeOut Istanbul, November 2008.
Read the interview online:
http://www.timeoutistanbul.com/s76179/gaylezbiyen/deniz_buganin_carsambalari

-Wednesdays has received Special Mention from 56th International San Sebastian Film Festival. The film was in the short film competition of 7th International Film School Meeting.
For more info:
http://www.sansebastianfestival.com/in/pyj2.php?id=237

-Wednesdays has its world premiere in 56th International San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain (18/27 September 2008)
For more information:
http://www.sansebastianfestival.com/in/seccio.php?id=116

-Turkish version of Wednesdays Blog coming up soon.

Synopsis

2008-09-19T19:46:00.001-07:00

On wednesdays, the soldier leaves the barracks and visits the apartment of the buddhist man in the city. While making love, they talk about their beliefs and dreams.
Unity they have is temporary, but love they need is eternal.

2008-09-19T19:43:00.000-07:00

Director's Statement

2008-09-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

"What really matters is what we can only be silent about."
-Wittgenstein

We are born into a world which has been continuously shaped by the others, before and after us. We walk through with our different responsibilities, expectations, social codes and beliefs though we do not know exactly where they come from. We find ourselves in these bodies that are almost too different to be equal.
Wednesdays presents two characters: a black Buddhist guy from New York and a white Catholic soldier from Ohio. Coming from two different mental and physical geographies, these characters "believe" that their love has no future. Realities and codes of social space they live in do not only shape who they are and how they "act", but also shape whom they "should" and "should not" love.
My question is: why do we have to internalize social codes so much so that we end up censoring ourselves from things we really want to do? Yes, there is a system out there, rules and obligations; but it is "us" who (are) believe(d) that we can't shape it. How come we are so sure that every attempt to knock it down will be another failure? We gently resign from what we really want to be. We resign from love just because they say she/he is not the right one to be with (his color, his religion, his gender.) Resignation comes with silence, and -unfortunately-silence becomes the basic element of our existence.
As two characters in the movie resigning from their love, their unity and dreams, they get buried in silence day by day. Wednesdays focuses on this silence: silence of impossiblity, impossibility of love.

Dialogue Excerpt from the Movie

2008-09-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

-Do you believe in God?
-I do. We come from Him and we go back to Him.
-I saw Him!
-What?
-In my dreams...

2008-06-11T12:30:00.002-07:00