Between Two Dawns

Kadir works in his family's textile factory. In an accident with a machine one of the workers is badly injured. The father is abroad, the older brother is not running things, and managing the situation falls to Kadir. The hospital, the report, the insurance, the worker's wife and the possibility that the factory closes all arrive on the same night. Kadir has to choose between doing the right thing and protecting his family, and every option burns someone. Selman Nacar writes and directs. Mücahit Koçak plays Kadir, with Nezaket Erden and Burcu Gölgedar in the cast. It is the director's first film. Nacar trained in law, and the film's knowledge of legal procedure comes from that; how the reports are written and how statements are taken is accurate in detail. The narrative takes place over one night and moves nearly in real time. The camera does not leave Kadir's side. The subject is not a crime but who the responsibility will be loaded onto. Nobody is plainly ill intentioned; everyone is trying to save their own position and the system makes that possible. It screened in the New Directors section of the San Sebastián film festival and drew attention on the circuit. The visual language is plain: long takes, natural light and scenes without music. Who it is for: viewers who follow the new generation of Turkish festival cinema and drama built on moral dilemma. Who it is not for: the pace is slow, little happens, and the ending is left open.