Mehmet Selcuk Bilge was born in Istanbul in 1983. He has been working as a short film and promotional video director since 2003.
After graduating in International Relations from Sakarya University, Mehmet Selcuk studied Radio-TV and Cinema at Istanbul University, receiving his Master’s degree with a thesis entitled “Utopia and Dystopia in Cinema: Semiological Analysis of Children of Men”.
His short films competed in prominent festivals in Turkey and around world, and he won the DocuTIFF Best Balkan Film Award with his documentary, ROTTEN (2015).
feature film
first draft
In a totalitarian country of a dystopian world, the suicide attempt of a lonely middle-aged woman is investigated by government. She is forced to give reasons for her behavior otherwise she has to appear in court because unwarranted suicide is prohibited by law. When she realizes and declares that she wanted to end her life just because of this suffocating system, the judge decides that she’s a terrorist and she has to be executed.
Attached to the project: director
Looking for: co-writer, producer
Keywords: dystopia, dark comedy, kafkaesque, chaos, survival
2016 THE ROPE BROKE, short film, writer/director – Balkan Film Food Festival, Albania: Best Short Film (Mish Mash Awards)
2015 ROTTEN, short documentary, writer/director – DocuTIFF, Albania: Best Balkan Film
2007 MR. UNHAPPY, short fiction, writer/director – 18th Ankara Intl. Film Festival, Turkey: Best Short Film
INT. SUREYYA HOUSE – DAY
Süreyya, a rather plain and unassuming woman in her forties, visited by the social worker. They are sitting on the table, Sureyya looks nervous. Social Worker hands her some documents.
Süreyya tries to fill the forms in a hurry. The social worker looks around the house then stares at her.
Süreyya removes her scarf shyly and shows her neck. He sees the bruise and makes a sour face.
He takes the paper out of her hand and starts to read and fill up himself.
Süreyya looks unstable, can’t respond.
He reads the next question.
He reads the next question.
No response.
“Frankly, have you ever heard of anything stupider than to say to people as they teach in film schools, not to look at the camera?”
–
Sans Soleil (1983)