Wednesday, December 21, 2005

2005 | Costak Team in Turkey

The pre-production of Costak, the feature film produced by Silk|ROAD is underway. 

 A small Costak Team of Erju Ackman, Goksin Carey and Billie Ackman will travel to Turkey from December 26, 2005 to January 14, 2006 to scout locations around Istanbul, Bursa, Bodrum and Kas during Dec 2005 - January 2006. 

Costak is based on a real historical character Bicakci Petri-Petri, the Blade whose life story is mentioned in Istanbul Ansiklopedisi by R.E.Kocu (item: "Galata Canavari Bicakci Petri- Galata Monster, Petri the Blade" (b. 1853 Island of Ayamavri, Ionian Sea - d. Galata, Istanbul, August 28, 1880). The films pre-production research notes are being posted to Costak Files Blog. The film interweaves story of Petri, with a police investigation of a murder suicide of an immigrant dishwasher in an unnamed North American city and a curator that is in preparation for an exhibit at a shoe museum. One of the items he is researching is a sipidik (a slipper style backless street shoe, ruffians would wear during Petri's times. 

 The byline of Costak the movie at the time of pre-production tells it all: "Costak...10 songs, 8 murders and a pair of slippers..." Costak as a word and as a name has no meaning. Maybe it sounds a bit like Constantine (in Greek Kostak). 

We do not want you to have any concrete ideas about the film based on it's name. We want it to be as if it is an untitled work, a nameless piece. However as a feature film "untitled" did not sound right. We feel it has the right sound and musicality by itself if we called it "costak" and if you really force us to come up with anything... we think it is about a certain feeling of love and loss unique to Levantine ports and sleepless nights wasted on whatever passion one has. If you know what this state of mind is ... you have "costak".

No comments: