“Nowadays, the biggest dream of the young generation of Turkey is to go abroad,” says writer and director Serhat Karaaslan in our email interview below. “Of course, there are many reasons for this […] but I think oppression is one of the biggest reasons as well.”
This is the focus of Karaaslan’s HollyShorts Film Festival entry The Criminals, which tells the story of a young Turkish couple (Deniz Altan and Lorin Merhart) who try to find a hotel to spend a romantic night together, but are repeatedly turned away for not having a marriage certificate. Determined to be together, their night takes a dark turn as tensions reach a boiling point between them, the hotel manager (Ercan Kesal), and the hotel security guard (Erdem Senocak).
Currently in its international festival run, The Criminals has so far been met with unanimous applause and rewarded with myriad accolades. And rightfully so: Karaaslan’s film is a bold, suspenseful, and powerful peek into the reality of living in a society that seeks to enforce oppressive traditions and control over its citizens. What’s especially chilling is that The Criminals is based on a true story. “What actually happened [in real life] was what inspired this story initially, but at the time same I was thinking a lot about the direction in which the country is going and the oppression that people feel, especially young generations.”
Altan and Merhart churn incredible performances as the young couple, flitting effortlessly from their desire to be together to their desperation to break free. Of course, it is Senocak’s performance as the hotel security guard (and personification of societal power and control) that steals the show. There’s an oiliness to the way he plays the security guard as someone who seems to enjoy watching the young couple squirm, and it immediately strikes fear in your heart. “[He] is not only a psychopath who recklessly uses power when he gets power, but also someone who leans his back on the conservative society and the regime, and gets strength from it.”
Continue reading for our interview with Karaaslan, wherein he talks about turning the true story into a thriller, the significance of the hotel space, and the importance of privacy and intimacy.
The Criminals is such a powerful film and a bold representation of a society that seeks to control and watch over its citizens. What inspired you to tell the story? Considering the subject matter and the discussions it may spark, were there any moments of fear or hesitation for you throughout the film’s creation?
The Criminals is based on a true story. However, the real story was quite simple compared to what happens in the film, but it presented a great opportunity for me to mix genres. It took me a while to figure out how to tell this story, but once I decided to add suspense and make it a thriller, I got very excited and came up with the security guard character. What actually happened was what inspired this story initially, but at the same time I was thinking a lot about the direction in which the country is going and the oppression that people feel, especially young generations.
Nowadays, the biggest dream of the young generation in Turkey is to go abroad, especially to Europe and the US. Of course, there are many reasons for this, such as economic, future concerns, etc., but I think oppression is one of the biggest reasons as well. Private life and how important intimacy is was one of the reasons I made this movie. There was a bit of hesitation, but I was never afraid to make this movie.
What’s most interesting is the film’s generational divide: at heart of The Criminals is a young couple for whom love, sex, and intimacy aren’t taboo subjects, but they are frequently met with older people who seek to enforce tradition and obedience. How important was it for you to frame the story from a young couple’s perspective? Would you say that younger generations and audiences are more open to topics and conversations around sex and relationships?
Yes, I think the younger generations are more open-minded than older people when it comes to sex and relationships. Although it is not correct to generalize, we can say that it is mostly so. The older generations are more closed-minded and more tradition-bound. I think this comes from the fear of breaking the established system and continuing as is. Probably that’s why it is said that the family is sacred in every culture. There is a clash of two generations in the movie. The older generation, whose greatest fear is the existence of young people who have sex before marriage, and the younger generation who want to experience love and sexuality freely. The hotelier reacts like a parent would. The security guard represents something even darker and more frightening to me. This character is not only a psychopath who recklessly uses power when he gets power, but also someone who leans his back on the conservative society and the regime, and gets strength from it.
The film takes place predominantly in a hotel, which is a significant location in that it’s both private and public. It also lends the film an underlayer of suspense. What inspired you to choose the hotel as the main location for your film? How did you go about finding the perfect location and shooting in it?
Since the real story takes place in a hotel, I directly thought of the hotel as the main location. At the same time, I was finding hotels, especially cheap hotels, very cinematographic, which strengthened my desire to choose them as the location for the film. I was thinking of the hotel as a small micro-universe and wanted to stay there as much as possible in the movie.
It was not easy to find a hotel. Although we looked for a long time, we could not find a real hotel. By combining several hotels and making the rooms in the studio, we were able to create the location I imagined. Since I wanted the hotel itself to be another character in the movie and I saw it as one of the most important elements to establish the atmosphere, we did a lot of work with the art director. I rewatched many movies that take place in hotels like Barton Fink, Mystery Train, Chantal Akerman’s documentary Hotel Monterey. Although these are very different films, each one inspired location-wise.
The Criminals has played at many festivals and has been very positively received. And, now, you’re playing at HollyShorts, which is an incredible platform for filmmakers. What does your film’s success and overall reach so far mean to you?
We are very happy that the film has been able to reach a global audience through festivals. One of the biggest problems with short films is distribution. What is more important to us than festivals and awards is that the film can reach a lot of people. Festivals increase the visibility of films. Being in the selection of prestigious and important festivals encourages us and motivates us to tell new stories as well.
What’s next for you? And where can viewers follow you and your work?
I am currently working on a feature film project. Writing the script. If everything goes well, I think it will meet the audience in two or three years. I share my short movies on vimeo. Currently, my feature film Passed by Censor is available on Netflix Turkey. It will be in some other regions as well but I don’t know when exactly. My short films are also in Mubi Turkey. I’m using social media, Twitter (@KaraaslanSerhat) and Instagram (@serhartkaraaslan). I am more active on Instagram.
