Synopsis
Establishing a bleak village in Eastern Turkey as its setting, Sivas features the story of Aslan, an eleven-year-old boy, and Sivas, a weathered fighting dog who develop a strong relationship after Aslan finds Sivas wounded in a ditch, left to die. Meanwhile, a school play dominates the background as Aslan is disappointed in losing the role of the prince to Osman, his rival-in-love and son of the village head. While Osman gets ahead in the two boys’ race to win the hand of Ayse, the “princess” of the village, Aslan tries to impress her with his newfound friend. And Sivas, having found a new lease on life, wins one fight after another, strengthening Aslan’s hand. However, as Sivas’s success attracts more attention by the village head, the roles change and Aslan finds himself in an unexpected crashcourse into adulthood, leaving the princess behind.

Sivas by Kaan Müjdeci – Turkey, Germany, 97′
language: Turkish – s/t English, Italian
Dogan Izci, Çakir, Ozan Çelik, Muttalip Müjdeci, Ezgi Ergin, Hasan Özdemir, Furkan Uyar, Okan Avci, Hasan Yazilitas, Banu Fotocan

Director’s Statement
Sivas is its own child—a film that gives birth to itself slowly—along the ride. It could be defined as a movie with an experimental film grammar. However, my aim does not attempt to be experimental for the sake of it, but rather that tries to reflect in truth the mercurial life of rural Anatolia. It might be that the stereotypical image of the countryside in Turkey—or anywhere in the world—is that it’s static, unchanging, unlike, for instance, to that of the city. The “processed” images of films that depict the village life shows a settlement supposed to be “sleepy,” with a character that longs to escape it. What I had in mind while directing Sivas, was to avoid this well-trodden path. Sivas is about the continuously evolving life and character of a small boy and a small village. I purposefully kept the stakes low: there is no epic love, or an epic struggle, or the usual concerns we see in films that concerns the Anatolian rural life. But it is definitely one hell of a ride rather than an act of capturing. Sivas itself does not capture, but willingly lets go: of its main characters played by amateur actors, its unprocessed setting, meanwhile firmly holding onto its plot.

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