| On the Count of Zero | |
| Starring: | Oktay Kaynarca Hazim Körmükçü Damla Tokel Görkem Yeltan |
| Producer: | Tarkan Atesmen Melih Bulu Mehmet Akif Malatyali Sakir Sari Gokhan Yorgancigil |
| Runtime: | 92 minutes |
| Music: | Volkan Topsakal |
| Cinematography: | Dogan Sarigüzel |
| Editing: | Savas Dogan Gokhan Yorgancigil |
On the Count of Zero (Turkish: Sıfır Dediğimde) is a 2007 mystery/thriller/drama Turkish film, written and directed by Gökhan Yorgancıgil.
The film stars Oktay Kaynarca, Hazim Körmükçü and Damla Tokel as the main characters, but also includes the talents of Görkem Yeltan, Özge Özder, Semih Sergen and Riza Pekkutsal. The film tells the story of the young art student Aslı, through her desperate journey in the world of hypnosis in order to find the precious art book she has lost and her unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger in the world of hypnosis. The plot thickens with the parallel story of a mother reading fairy-tales to her son which are depicted as 3D animation renderings of traditional Turkish shadow puppeteering art. The parallel stories entwine to lead the characters towards the mysterious Burgaz Island through a journey into the ancient capital of the East, Istanbul.
On the Count of Zero is the first Turkish film in the mystery / thriller genre. The film project was developed through the blog page Mahkum.net, which makes it the first film project to be developed online with the participation of Mahkum.net's followers on topics ranging from story ideas to casting decisions.
The film was screened in 4 festivals in the US and won 2 Special Jury Remi Awards in the 42nd Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in the "Best First Feature" and "Theatrical Feature" contending for Grand REMI Award categories.
Young art student Asli has lost a precious miniature-art book, but hasno recollection of how it got misplaced. She and her medical studentfriend Nevin, having lost all hope due to her unexplained temporaryamnesia, go through an intense hypnosis session under the supervisionof an expert psychiatrist. As the psychiatrist helps Asli relive theday she lost the book, she unexpectedly comes across a mysteriousstranger in the hypnosis world.
A mystical eastern fairytale unfolds in both the world of hypnosis andthe real world, as the characters, led by an unseen hand, areuncontrollably steered towards the mysterious Burgaz Island. Aslienters the realms of traditional Turkish fairy-tales and the unchartedworld of hypnosis, through a journey into the ancient capital of theEast, Istanbul.
42nd Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival - Houston, Texas, USA (April 17–26, 2009)