In the Blind Spot explained

In the Blind Spot
Director:Ayşe Polat
Music:Dynamedion
Cinematography:Patrick Orth
Editing:Serhad Mutlu, Jörg Volkmar
Studio:Mitosfilm
Distributor:ArtHood Entertainment
Runtime:118 minutes
Country:Germany

In the Blind Spot (German: '''Im toten Winkel''') is a 2023 German mystery thriller film 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.[1] It is selected in Encounter at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 19 February 2023.[2] [3]

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

Production

The film was shot from 24 April 2021 to 24 June 2021 in Turkey and Hamburg.[4] [5]

Reception

Jay Weissberg for The Film Verdict wrote, "A bold and chilling political thriller of shifting perspectives in which the weight of state-sanctioned terror begins to crush a security agent in eastern Turkey, where trauma and paranoia rip apart the social fabric."[6]

Joseph Fahim for Middle East Eye wrote: "A political thriller imbued with scorching commentary, this is Polat’s finest film to date and is a snapshot of a lawless place governed by xenophobia and paranoia ... The use of the camera, both as a tool of surveillance and as a recorder of repressed truths, reflects the hazards of image-making in a culture terrified - yet fascinated - by what can be and what is shown."[7]

Vladan Petkovic for Cineuropa wrote, "A mystery-thriller with Rashomon-style storytelling, German-Kurdish filmmaker Ayşe Polat's In the Blind Spot sets up an intriguing premise ... 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. On the other hand, the city where the story takes place is an excellent setting that combines magnificent ancient ruins with dark, narrow alleyways and abandoned construction sites. As such, it is an ideal background both for the mystery and for the overarching theme of transgenerational trauma ..."[8]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremony CategoryRecipientResult
Berlin International Film Festival26 February 2023Golden Bear PlaqueIn the Blind Spot[9]
Istanbul Film Festival18 April 2023Golden Tulip (Best Film)In the Blind Spot[10]
Istanbul Film Festival18 April 2023Best ScreenplayAyse Polat
Istanbul Film Festival18 April 2023Best EditingSerhad Mutlu, Jörg Volkmar
Istanbul Film Festival18 April 2023FIPRESCI AwardIn the Blind Spot
Oldenburg International Film Festival17 September 2023German Independence AwardIn the Blind Spot[11]
Ankara Film Festival10 November 2023Best DirectorAyse Polat[12]
Ankara Film Festival10 November 2023Best ScreenplayAyse Polat
Ankara Film Festival10 November 2023Best CinematographyPatrick Orth
Ankara Film Festival10 November 2023Best EditingSerhad Mutlu, Jörg Volkmar
Ankara Film Festival10 November 2023Best Art Direction / Production DesignOsman Özcan, Görkem Canbolat
Ankara Film Festival10 November 2023Best ActorAhmet Varlı
Ankara Film Festival10 November 2023Best Supporting ActressNihan Okutucu

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: In the Blind Spot. Ayşe. Polat . 10 February 2023. 10 February 2023 . . en.
  2. Web site: Berlin Film Festival: Sean Penn, Philippe Garrel, Margarethe Von Trotta & Christian Petzold In Competition — Full List . Zac . Ntim. Deadline Hollywood . 23 January 2023 . 10 February 2023. en.
  3. Web site: 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 . 2023-04-23 . www.deed.news . en-US.
  4. Web site: Im toten Winkel. In the Blind Spot. Crew United . 10 February 2023 . 3 February 2023.
  5. Web site: Im toten Winkel, Deutschland 2021/2023 Spielfilm. In the Blind Spot, Germany 2021/2023 feature film. February 10, 2023 . filmportal.de . de.
  6. Web site: Weissberg . Jay . In the Blind Spot . thefilmverdict.com . 21 February 2023 . 21 February 2023.
  7. Web site: Fahim . Joseph . Berlinale Film Festival . middleeasteye.net . 7 March 2023.
  8. Web site: Review: In the Blind Spot . Vladan . Petkovic . 22 February 2023. 23 February 2023 . . en.
  9. Web site: Berlin Film Festival Reveals Competition Lineup (Updating Live). Ramachandran . Naman . Vivarelli . Nick . 10 February 2023. 23 January 2023 . Variety.
  10. Web site: The awards of the 42nd Istanbul Film Festival . 18 January 2024. 25 April 2023 . Istanbul Film Festival.
  11. Web site: Ayse Polat’s ‘In the Blind Spot’ Wins Oldenburg Film Festival German Independence Award . 18 January 2024 . 17 September 2023 . Oldenburg Film Festival.
  12. Web site: 34. Ankara Film Festivali’nde Ödüller Sahiplerini Buldu. . 18 January 2024 . 10 November 2023 . Oldenburg Film Festival.

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