The film "The Golden Calf" is about a search for cinema between art and proselytizing

The team of the film, which is inspired by the story of "Samiri" in the Holy Quran and is about a search for a cinema between art and preaching, came together at a press conference held at the Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge, where shooting is ongoing.

Director Nazif Tunç and actors Dursun Ali Erzincanlı and Ali Nuri Türkoğlu attended the meeting and answered questions from members of the press.

Director Nazif Tunç told an AA correspondent after the meeting that they wanted to transfer six surahs named after animals in the Quran to the screen and convey some messages to people through these animal representations.

Tunç, stating that they shot the film "The Ant" inspired by the Surah An-Naml and now intend to adapt "The Golden Calf," based on the story of "Samiri," said, "We have a wealth of rich representations to bring to our cinema, from the stories and anecdotes found in both the Quran and the hadiths of our Prophet. Unfortunately, cinema is far removed from all of this. However, as Turkish and Muslim filmmakers, we need to rediscover these sources, which our literature so richly and intensely engages with."

Tunç, emphasizing that filmmakers should turn to the sources of wisdom in Anatolia and Turkestan, as well as the West, continued:

"I'm struggling with this to some extent. We need to convey to Muslim filmmakers who will come after us the richness of these sources and the power of their representation for the screen, whether as metaphor, symbol, or truth. Just as the stories told by Rumi in his Masnavi have resonated worldwide, I believe that films brought to the screen using these sources will have very important and pure messages for all of humanity."

Tunç stated that they had prepared a five-week preparation and a three-week shooting schedule for the film "Golden Calf" and informed that the story of the film takes place in a cinema in Istanbul.

Nazif Tunç, speaking about the film's plot, said, "It tells the story of two Muslim filmmaking brothers who, while trying to resist external discourse, domination, pressure, and other forms of invasion in the cinema community, face difficulties while filming a film set during the time of Prophet Moses. Their intention is to make an iconoclastic film, but unfortunately, they are also subjected to all sorts of condemnations, attacks, and assaults, as well as attacks from the very idols they are trying to break."

Actor, poet and artist Dursun Ali Erzincanlı said that he knew beforehand that Nazif Tunç would make a film about the story of "Samiri" and that he read and liked the script after it arrived, and that he later learned that he would play the narrator role in the film.

Erzincanlı commented, "This story was probably the one I felt most comfortable telling. Because you have to tell it in a way the person you're talking to can relate to, as if they were seeing it. For example, when I was working on poetry, I said, 'I should tell Badr in such a way that it feels like Badr is new, like people are hearing it for the first time.' Now, in this film, I'm the one telling the story, but what I'm telling also comes into play, and people are experiencing the event I'm telling today."

Erzincanlı explained that the film is an exciting work in many aspects, and noted:

"A work that will bring us face to face with our inner selves. Secondly, it will offer a perspective on social media, the visual world, television, and cinema, which drive us crazy and set the agenda. It's actually a calf we don't even know about, but which cinema is used for. God forbid, do we really see cinema as this golden calf? Has our world become like that? I'd also like to thank Nazif. I'm delighted to be involved in such a project. I hope many people benefit from it. We eagerly await the viewing day after the editing phase."

Actor Ali Nuri Türkoğlu noted that he plays the character of director Yahya Demir, one of two famous filmmaker brothers who want to tell beautiful stories in the film.

Speaking about his character in the film, Türkoğlu said, "Yahya Demir has been telling stories of wisdom and spirituality for 30 years, but he hasn't achieved the transparency and purity he desires. Just as he's preparing for his biggest films, minor road accidents befall him. This is where Yahya Demir's purification process begins. Throughout the film, we strive to purify and keep the film clean. What we're really watching is the purification story of the people who made this film. And specifically, Yahya Demir's."

Türkoğlu, who stated that the film will offer viewers a mystical and spiritual depth, shared his view: "We are watching a story of purification written in our own codes. And yes, purification does occur at the end of the film. The message here is, 'Actually, it's not the film that matters; what matters is our purification, our cleansing!'"

Türkoğlu stated that various messages will be conveyed to the audience through the character of Yahya Demir, saying, "We believe this will be a very important classic film. I was deeply impressed when I first read the script. It's shot with beautiful cast, a simple, strong narrative, and without being carried away by the sensuality of visuals or words."

Türkoğlu stated that they did not encounter any difficulties other than the temperature, that they tried not to allow anything that would harm the delicate feeling of the film, and that a very sweet work was created, adding that Nazif Tunç was a director who was open to suggestions and very easy to work with.

The film, whose script was written by Nazif Tunç and Yusuf Faruk Tunç, with Cevahir Şahin as director of photography, stars Ali Nuri Türkoğlu, Dursun Ali Erzincanlı and Mürşit Ağa Bağ, while the cast also includes Onur Yenidünya, Melahat Abbasova and Mustafa Şimşek.

Inspired by the sohbet tradition of Islamic literature, the film tells the story of Orhan Demir, a filmmaker and producer who has created the first examples of spiritual cinema in his country, and his brother, director Yahya Demir, as they embarked on the journey to realize their project "The Golden Calf," which they adapted from a story in the Quran, as the last film of their career.

In the tension between representation and truth, art and proclamation, commerce and piety, the film "The Golden Calf" seeks a new genre in cinema, and aims to go beyond the usual scenario patterns and establish a narrative language whose primary purpose is guidance.