Sneak preview co-sponsored by the New York Turkish Film Festival, October 20-28, 2006. For more details visit www.moonandstarsprojects.org

Anlat Istanbul is a modern day fairytale replete with wit, wonder, and characters who, in classic fairytale fashion, are brimming with oddities that reveal their humanity. Leading us through this adventure is an affable gypsy clarinetist cum Pied Piper, who traverses the rarely seen corners of an Istanbul night, gathering his band of luckless eccentrics and hopeful dreamers. These unlikely characters’ lives become part of an intertwined chain of events sparked by the murder of a mob boss. Anlat Istanbul is colorful and intricately crafted both as a film and a story. Ultimately, it leaves us with a set of morals as simple as a child's story and as complex as humanity itself, reminding us of the folly of greed, the fortune of friendship and the promise of imagination. In Turkish w/English subtitles.

Post-screening discussion with Zeynep Dadak (NYU/Altyazi Film Magazine) and Bilge Ebiri (Film Critic, NYC)

Ümit Ünal was born in 14th April 1965. He studied cinema in Dokuz Eylul University, School of Fine Arts between 1981 and 1985. He made three short films during his school years, which won various prizes in national short film competitions. His first screenplay, My Aunt (Teyzem), was made into film in 1986 and won the biggest prize in the Screenplay Competition of Milliyet Daily. His other screenplays are: My Dreams, My Love and You (Hayallerim, A_k¦m ve Sen), Billioner (Milyarder), Devil My Friend (Arkada_¦m _eytan), Piano Piano Bacaks¦z, Berlin in Berlin, American (Amerikal¦), Summer Rain (Yaz Ya_muru). Ümit Ünal also published 3 books: American Beauty (Amerikan Güzeli, 1993), Alphabet of Love (A_k¦n Alfabesi, 1996), The Tail (Kuyruk, 2001). He has worked as a copy writer and a creative director in international advertising agencies since 1990. In 1997 he started directing TV commercials. Since 1999, he is a freelance director/writer. His first feature film as a director, 9 (2002), was screened at many international film festivals, including the Second Boston Turkish Film Festival. He lives in Istanbul and Hertfordshire, UK.

Kudret Sabanc¦: Kudret Sabanc¦ graduated from the Cinema division of the Fine Arts Department at Dokuz Eylül University. In 1990, he won awards for the short film Mutfakta Biri Mi Var? (Is Someone in the Kitchen?), and the documentary Daylak (The Camel) at the Oberhausen Film Festival and the Adana Golden Cocoon Film Festival. He finished work on his first full-length feature film with Laleli'de Bir Azize (A Saint in Laleli), which he directed in 1998. He has also directed television series such as Zerda and Aliye.

Yücel Yolcu: Yücel Yolcu directed the film K¦r¦k Zar (Broken Bones) in 2000, and won the Best Film and Best Director awards for it at the Bozcaada Film
Festival. He has made music videos and commercials in Turkey and in
Germany.

Ömür Atay: Ömür Atay graduated from the Cinema division of the Fine Arts
department at Dokuz Eylül University. He directed the short films
Gözlerinden Geçtim and Necropolis in 1994 and 1997, respectively, and
won the first-place award at the IFSAK Short Film Competition. He has
directed the series Ruhsar, Ask Meydan Savas¦, and Bir Istanbul Masal¦
for television.