If you’ve read my stuff for any length of time, you know I’ve been (maybe too long?) a one trick pony. A movie is released, I review that movie, and the world spins on. That’s what a film critic does, right? Right, but it occurs to me that I could offer y’all a little more variety. At some point down the road, perhaps I’ll hit the film festival circuit and not only write about the films I see, but what it feels like to spend time in that environment.

From time to time, I also want to focus on interesting filmmakers who are either up and coming or don’t already command a spotlight. That’s what we’re doing now. Turkish filmmaker Serkan Aktash reached out to About Boulder not long ago. He’s preparing to make his feature debut with Kanlisirt, a drama about a World War I battle between the Turkish Army and British troops. Before that, he lived in the world of short film.

Filmmakers usually level up to features by either making short films or music videos first. In Serkan’s case, he’s spent the last few years honing his craft with shorts and some episodes of Turkish TV. After we chatted a bit, he kindly agreed to send me a few of his shorts* as a representation of his work. They’re cool – let’s talk about them.

In The Librarian, we’re introduced to Mazhar (Mustafa Aydin), an Istanbul librarian who’s very good at his job. We know he’s very good since he’s memorized the location of all of the books. All the books. But he’s lonely. Mazhar’s only companionship is his parrot. He dreams about drowning refugees and misses his late mother. 

While Mazhar is good at his job, he’s chronically late, and that causes him to lose his job. So he wanders, through the streets of Istanbul, through a bazaar, through a sea of humanity. The only person he keeps coming back to is himself. Literally. Another Mazhar that isn’t as depressed, is more steady, and who might help guide Mazhar to a new chapter in his life.

In Mirrorty, a man (Onur Soyal) hangs out in his apartment. He’s alone. He guzzles soda and nibbles on chips. He watches reality TV and seems totally indifferent to the world beyond his flat. But the world intrudes. He sees a news report about a rash or mysterious disappearances. It’s not affecting him, so who cares, right? It will affect him, particularly when he begins to learn that the reflection in his mirror is far more than a reflection.

Lastly, in Resurrection Under the Ocean, a man (Adnan Yanbay) sinks to the bottom of the ocean. He’s not drowning, per se, but he is in a sense. It’s only until he descends into darkness that he can see a way forward, up, into the light.

Watch enough shorts and you’ll begin to get a sense of who has potential, but more importantly, who understands craft. The trap a lot of microbudget shorts fall into is that they look cheap, have actors who can’t act, or take place in a visually uninteresting location. If I’m a producer or an executive, I want someone who understands how to tell a story and utilize their budget to the fullest. If that filmmaker can spend five hundred dollars wisely, they have a better shot at spending five million wisely.**

That’s where I think Serkan’s work has the juice. First, he has craft. Take a look at the entirety of Resurrection Under the Ocean, a short where a dude is entirely underwater. When the camera angles are tweaked and the lighting is utilized appropriately, we’re actually told a quick story about a man pushing himself toward rebirth. Or watch the scenes in The Librarian as Mazhar makes his way through Istanbul. Serkan uses the energy from the bazaar to boost a sense of isolation. Along similar lines, a staircase reminiscent of M.C. Escher that Mazhar climbs creates a feeling of isolation. Those emotions are created by finding the right locations and shooting in just the right ways. It’s much more effective than blowing a ton of money on visual effects.

Along with having a strong sense of filmmaking craft, Serkan knows how to use that craft to tell a story efficiently. At the end of the day, we want our movies to make us feel something specific. But I can’t tell you the number of shorts I’ve seen that have a Junior David Lynch thing going in which emotions and story are cleverly concealed by weirdness. It’s true that in Mirrorty, there is a degree of, “Wait, why are people vanishing? And why are people getting trapped in mirrors?” We never learn why that’s happening, but it doesn’t matter. We focus on a guy who’s fully checked out of the world, and what happens when the world grabs his attention anyway. We see who he begins as, who he ends as, and how it all makes him feel. That’s what good filmmakers do.

Getting to see a new short is interesting. Getting to see a number of shorts from the same filmmaker is fascinating. When that happens, you’ll learn about their specific styles, their interests, and recurring themes in their work. I’m happy that Serkan Aktash reached out to us, and with a little bit of luck, he should have a strong career.

*Serkan’s shorts should be arriving on Prime shortly. In the meantime, you can watch The Librarian here, Resurrection Under the Ocean here, and Mirrorty here.

**His shorts have budgets ranging from five hundred dollars to a little over two thousand dollars. 

Tim Brennan Movie Critic

Tim has been alarmingly enthusiastic about movies ever since childhood. He grew up in Boulder and, foolishly, left Colorado to study Communications in Washington State. Making matters worse, he moved to Connecticut after meeting his too-good-for-him wife. Drawn by the Rockies and a mild climate, he triumphantly returned and settled down back in Boulder County. He's written numerous screenplays, loves hiking, and embarrassed himself in front of Samuel L. Jackson. True story.