Kapı is a Turkish language drama film released in 2019. The film was directed by Turkish director Nihat Durak, while its script was written by Filiz Üstün Durak.
The film starred Turkish actors Vahide Perçin and Kadir İnanır, the latter starring as part of his first film appearance after a 7-year hiatus and his last before retirement. Actors Timur Acar, Erdal Beşikçioğlu, and Aybüke Pusat also starred and played leading roles in the film.
Contents
Plot
Woodworker Yakup (played by Kadir İnanır), as well as his family, are ethnic Assyrians that migrated from Mardin to Berlin, Germany. He and his wife, Şemsa (played by Vahide Perçin) moved abroad due to their son Mikhael being killed by unidentified gunmen 25 years prior, with his body not being found. One day during a birthday celebration, Yakup receives a call, and so the family travel to Mardin alongside their granddaughter Nardin (played by Aybüke Pusat) from Germany for identification.
The film confronts Assyrian history in Turkey and the journey of "returning home" as Yakup finds that the door he made with Mikhael for their old house is missing. The family travels to Istanbul as Yakup's wish is to retrieve the door and his son's legacy.
Cast
Kadir İnanır as Yakup
Vahide Perçin as Şemsa
Timur Acar as Remzi
Erdal Beşikçioğlu as Efrem
Aybüke Pusat as Nardin
Sermet Yeşil as Sain
Nilay Erdönmez as Asya
Özgün Çoban as Samuel
Reyhan Özdilek as Harran
Engin Yüksel as Ahment
Sinan Helvacı as Musa
Production
The film was shot primarily in Germany, as well as in the districts of Midyat and Savur, specifically in the village of Qelet.
Release
The film premiered in Istanbul in April 2019. The film also had a special premiere event in Diyarbakır, with İnanır present as well as government officials from Mardin.
Kapı headlined the 19th Frankfurt Turkish Film Festival in 2019, and was broadcast alongside other Turkish films of that year.
Reception
On Beyazperde, a Turkish cinema website, the film currently holds a score of 2.9/5 from press reviews and 3.7/5 from the site's users. During the premiere of the film, many of its actors expressed their satisfaction with the movie, with one of its actors, Menderes Samancılar. stating "I think the project opens the door to pain. The important thing is that it allows us all to look through this gap." The film was received mostly well among audiences, especially the Assyrian community.
Kadir İnanır, as a result of his participation in the film, received criticism from both Turkish nationalists and Turkish government officials.
Awards
Kapı won the Audience Award at the 2019 Adana Golden Boll Film Festival.