Arpa Film Festival 2015 interviews with film directors
The 18th Annual Arpa International Film festival will screen Hursit on November 14 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. This film is a part of the short program ticket that begins at 1 p.m. and includes five total films.
Hursit is a film about a young boy, who lives with his mother and disabled brother (in Cappadocia), and what happens when he realizes that what he was taught at his religious school is quite different from what happens in real life.
Writer-director Selcen Yilmazoglu was interviewed by Sharon Swainson, writer for Arpa Film Festival. Her replies to the questions are below.
Why did you choose to make your film?
Actually, I don’t have a specific answer to this question. However, one thing I know for sure is that I don’t like discrimination, in any case. To me there are only two kinds of people in this world — good people and bad people. I just wanted to show people that if you are a good person, no one can turn you into a bad person. Hursit is a good kid, and even when experiencing repression he will not change 
into a bad person. That is the message I tried to express. All we need is love or peace.
Name a moment during shooting that made you proud.
Every minute when we’re working with child actors.
Was there a moment that became a creative breakthrough while making your film?
Yes, when we were shooting the opening scene. Mutlucan Kahveci (the actor playing Hursit) had tears because of the cold temperature. It was one of those moments when nature took control and gave us a wonderful miracle. It was Mutlucan’s first acting experience and we were all impressed by how he worked with the the tears.
During the creative process, was there a moment when you let go of certainties and just ran with it, allowing creativity to do its thing?
Yes. There is no certainties when writing a screenplay. You have to go for what you believe. Otherwise there will be walls and art/filmmaking doesn’t like walls nor borders. Plus, I like to be an unrestricted director too.
Since an artist is truly never finished, is there anything that you would like to do differently or add to your film?
I would love to add another scene, which I won’t tell you. 🙂
What does it mean to you to have your film selected by the Arpa International Film Festival?
It means so much. We are still so thrilled about being selected by such a great film festival as the Arpa International Film Festival. It’s a great honor for me and my crew. There are many amazing director’s and films that the Festival could have selected, so it is a great privilege for me and my crew to be one of them.
Written by Sharon Swainson
Communications & Content Development
2015 Arpa International Film Festival