10 TO 11

Mithat collects things – newspapers, bottles, clocks, anything that can be stacked up in his flat in Istanbul; for him, the city is as large as his collections. For Ali, the building’s caretaker, it barely extends beyond a few streets. When the neighbours decide to have the building demolished and rebuilt, fearing the next earthquake and hoping for a higher property value, Mithat’s fight for his possessions begins. Ali, himself a loner, becomes his helper, and the two men unwittingly change each other’s fate. Pelin Esmer’s “10 to 11” (Turkey 2009, original title “11’e 10 kala”) is loosely based on the story of her uncle Mithat Esmer, who plays the lead role himself.

Esmer tells the story calmly and without dramatic emphasis, within the confines of a crowded flat where the camera barely finds room to move. The film screened in competition at the San Sebastián Film Festival in 2009. “10 to 11” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2010.

Shown at the 2010 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2010 · Film Archive