Press Conference: “The Edge of Heaven”

At the press conference today, the film crew from The Edge of Heaven fielded questions from the international journalists. Present were director Fatih Akin, actors Tuncel Kurtiz,
Nursel Köse, Hanna Schygulla, Nurgül Yesilcay, Patrycia Ziolkowska, Baki Davrak, as well as producers Klaus Maeck and Funda Odemis. Excerpts follow.

Hanna Schygulla on her participation in this film: “When I read the scenario, I thought it very unusual for a young man to get into such a basic thing as death as part of life and what
we do with it, how we react to it, how we live with it, how it makes us conscious. At the same time, I also realized that a lot of the young filmmakers now don’t stop at this taboo of
death, that society is still into it. And then I liked the fact that each of the characters have to digest the death of a person and it doesn’t stop at pain and bitterness but starts
wanting to go ahead with what the other person was into. To not stop at your own grief but to transform it into alchemy, somehow you turn it into gold. I thought that was very beautiful and was a
statement against all this impotence that we feel when we look at all the terrible things happening all over the world everyday. At least in our own personal way, we can not stop just with our
own well-being but care about how the other ones feel and at being able to give and not just always wait to get.”

Fatih Akin on what makes you a good director: “I don’t know that I’m so different from other directors. Yesterday I was here with the other directors from the World Cinema
Foundation, with Martin Scorsese, one of my masters, and Walter Salles, and a lot of great directors. It was Martin Scorsese who said that in a documentary about American cinema, where he said
that he’s watching so many films because he’s always looking for a master. I watch a lot of films, try to watch everyday a film because I’m looking for a master, because
I’m on the quest. And I hope that I can do this until the end of my career. I hope that I will get old and each year or two, I can reflect it all in cinema. I love cinema.”

Fatih Akin on the film characters: “All six characters are reflecting a part of me… I was also inspired by a lot of people I met during the Crossing the Bridge
film. I met this political artist, musicians who try to change the world with their music, which is maybe naïve. For the first time I saw that political resistance can be very
sexy.”

The actors on shooting this film abroad:

Tuncel Kurtiz: “In 1970, I came to Cannes to present a film. We’d had to smuggle it out of the country. I wasn’t able to go home, because three thousand intellectuals and young actors
had been arrested. I had to spend four years in Western Europe, trying to find work as a filmmaker or actor. Finally, I went back to Turkey, but it turned out to be very complicated to work
with the new government. I then went to Sweden, and from there to Berlin, where I had to learn German; to Israel, Italy, and Paris. (…) It’s a beautiful world, and people are the same
wherever you go: only the language changes. Where is the difference? We are all human beings. Our goal is to create a world community, not just a European one. I’m very happy to have worked
with Fatih Akin. I met wonderful people. I felt free. The world is a small house, and we have to make it into our garden. Language has no business there.”
Nursel Köse: “I come from Turkey, but I now live in Germany. In a way, I am a hybrid personality. There’s a whole generation in the same situation, and it’s up to us to deal with it.
Going to Turkey for my work is part of my life.”
Baki Davrak: “It was an extraordinary experience to work on this film. Going to Germany and from there to Turkey was very special
for me. In fact, I was born in Germany and grew up there, but I also know Turkey very well. To go back there, and work, to see the other world, there, this other side, is a sort of inner
journey. I’m always struck by the very different things I’ve seen, the people I’ve met… This journey isn’t over yet.”
Nurgul Yesilcay: “I think all the people involved in
making a film are similar. They think in the same way, and have a similar approach to work. For me, it wasn’t difficult to go to Germany to act in this film. The location matters little.”

Fatih Akin about being in Cannes: “Two years ago on the jury was much more comfortable…Two years ago when I was on the jury I saw three films a day and that I really enjoyed.
It’s like if this is football and it was the World Cup… When you have a film Out of Competition it’s a friendly game and when you have a film in Competition, it’s
playing against Brazil!”