On Friday 23rd May legendary Hungarian-American Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond will receive a Life Time Achievement Award from the 67th Cannes International Film Festival 2014. In an extraordinary, Academy Award-winning career spanning some six decades, Zsigmond’s outstanding credits include THE DEER HUNTER and HEAVEN’S GATE directed by Michael Cimino, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and SUGARLAND EXPRESS by Steven Spielberg, THE LONG GOODBYE by Robert Altman, BLOW OUT by Brian de Palma, DELIVERANCE by John Boorman and TALL DARK STRANGER and MELINDA & MELINDA by Woody Allen.
Carnaby International Sales & Distribution PLC are delighted to announce that the next project on which he will be Director of Photography is the highly anticipated ATATURK, which Carnaby will be introducing to international buyers at Cannes.
Carnaby will be holding a cocktail reception and special presentation to celebrate the announcement of ATATURK on Thursday May 15th 6-8pm at 22 Boulevard de la Croisette, hosted by visionary Producer / Director Fuad Kavur, who has also written the screenplay, and renowned Executive Producer Anthony Waye, who has worked on no fewer than eight BOND movies, with Guest of Honour, Director of Photography Vilmos Szigmond.
The cocktail party will also be attended by ATATURK’S star, the young English Actor Jack Fox (THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GREY). The film also stars Edmund Kingsley (HUGO, BEAST, ALLIES), Terence Stamp (SUPERMAN II, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT, VALKYRIE, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU), Sarah Gadon (A DANGEROUS METHOD, COSMOPOLIS), Daisy Bevan (TWO FACES OF JANUARY, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, THE AFFAIR OF THE NECKLACE), Miles Richardson (FLUSHED AWAY, THE BEST OFFER) and Julian Rhind Tutt (RUSH, THE HOUR, GREEN WING).
ATATURK is about one of the true giants of the 20th Century, Kemal Ataturk, who in the 1920s single-handedly founded the modern secular republic of Turkey. It is a story of love, betrayal and revenge, set against the turbulent backdrop of the War of Independence in the aftermath of the First World War, as the Allied powers are posed to partition Turkey. This is the story of two men, Kemal and Fuat, who start life as the best of friends but end up the worst of enemies. Kemal’s brief but passionate affair with the sensuous American journalist Louise, the sudden arrival of Ismet, an old comrade in arms and the ensuing power struggle set the scene for a fight to the death. Victory at war is followed by the fairytale marriage of Kemal to a young and beautiful Turkish heiress with a $1m dowry. As one friend Kemal achieves political power and sets his country on a course to modernism, the other, conservative and religious Fuat plots to assassinate him…
ATATURK is an Anglo-Hungarian co-production to be filmed entirely in Hungary, except for one week in Istanbul. The principal photography will start in October at ORIGO Film Studios in Budapest, whose owner, Greg Szetlik is the producer of the film.
Fuad Kavur says: “The story of ATATURK is about the triumph of Good over Evil. Oddly, the idea to make the film was not mine. It came from an old friend Branko Lustig, who was my First Assistant on MEMED MY HAWK. Branko, an Auschwitz survivor, later went on to produce SCHINDLER’S LIST and GLADIATOR and won Oscars for both films. He is an extraordinary man. Although not a Turk but a Croatian Jew, he understood Ataturk instinctively. For Branko understands good versus evil. The goodness of Kemal Ataturk, a man who sacrificed himself for the Turkish nation, lies in the fact that he did not rely on any dogmas. Ataturk wanted his people to understand that each individual is free to choose their own destiny. Of course his policies ruffled some feathers and made him enemies. Just as well, for without that there would be no screenplay: the essence of all drama is conflict!”
Sean O’Kelly comments: “Academy Award winner Vilmos Zsigmond is one of the most influential cinematographers in history and his extraordinary achievements are being recognised at Cannes this year. Carnaby International are absolutely delighted to be working with him on the major motion picture ATATURK. Carnaby hit the ground running when we launched the company at the Berlin Film Festival in February this year, and I am confident we will be an even stronger presence at the Cannes International Film Festival 2014.”