FREE FUN was the winner of BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at the LGBT Feedback Film Festival.
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
Fehmi Öztürk: Seeing the difference between people’s reality in social life and their own reality led me to make this film.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?
It took almost 20 days within everything. Me and my team are shooting TV series that last 120 minutes per episode for every week in Turkey. Therefore it was very comfortable for us to get organized. We did not spend time finding funds because we did our own production by ourselves. Our preparation took almost 1 week, and our shooting was 1 day. Post production last about 10 days. We know it sounds like impossible. Some people who live in outside of the Turkey couldn’t believe that we shot this short film in one day. However, it is possible for us because of working conditions in Turkish Tv World. In Turkey we are shooting almost 20 pages of script on a normal set day.That’s why one day was enough for us to shoot.
3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?
glorious lies
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
My biggest obstacle was me. Free Fun is my first movie. I couldn’t sleep because of excitement the day before shooting so I had to go to set without sleep. On the set I felt heart-throb because of sleeplessness and excitement.Therefore I had to go to the hospital. My heartbeat returned to normal but the doctor said we cannot discharge you from the hospital.It was a decision moment for me, either I stay in the hospital and not complete the film, or I would convince the doctor, be discharged and complete the film. Of course, I convinced the doctor. We lost 4 hours because of me, but in the end we finished that day.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I was very excited, people who lived far from where I lived and who lived where I had never been, were talking about my movie with excitement. I remembered my excitement when I first explained my dream to my close friends. It is very nice to be understood and perceived in another part of the world and witness it.
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:
6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
we have many roles in daily life, like being a mother, being a father, being a child.. All of them have a social games and rules, and these roles take place within these rules.
A question got stuck in my mind. What is the truth of man? Is it a social game or the game itself? Looking for answers to these questions I set up this story
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
There are a lot of movies I’ve watched over and over, but I’m not sure which one I watched the most. I can say all the films of Wong Kar Wai, especially Happy Together and 2046
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?
This is a comfortable platform especially for short filmmakers. We can search according to our needs, everything is very regular, we can easily apply. we don’t need to enter our information over and over again. we can be aware of every festival. this is a very comfortable space.
9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?
I think this is the hardest question. My musical taste changes according to my mood. Just looked at my music list, I have listened to the song “The day before you came” from Abba so far
10. What is next for you? A new film?
The shooting of my second movie is over. I am currently interested in post production. I worked on the concept of “father” in my first film “Free Fun”, and I tried to deal with the concept of “mother” in my second film. I love Bergman’s “Autumn Sonata“ movie. The problematic relationship between the mother and daughter there was my reference point. I really wanted to have a girl revenge on her mother in the film. I made the movie “a mother’s sonata” with this desire for revenge.
Matthew Toffolo's Summary 