Les Enfants terribles wins
Human Rights Award of Sarajevo Film Festival
... clear, unambiguous and fascinating to observe.
Nick Cunningham, Business Doc Europe
In a village in the south east of Turkey, Mahmut wants to divorce his newly-wed wife. At the same time, his sister Zeynep enrols in an open high school and takes on a job in a factory. Against her father’s wishes, she wants to leave the village and ultimately go to university. The siblings’ demands become the center of conflict in their conservative family and community, who are not used to what Mahmut and Zeynep strive for. Intimately captured by their elder brother Ahmet Necdet Cupur, who left the village twenty years ago to pursue his studies, LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES is a story of clashes between generations, between the past and the present.
Les Enfants Terribles is an amazing feature debut
and a truly intimate story. Must see!
Zeynep
Zeynep started a factory job in 2017. She was one of the first girls in the family. This phenomenon caused a change in the lifestyle of these girls who have begun to earn more money than their parents. They have begun to see their economic contribution to their families. Gradually, they were becoming aware of their individual rights. But with a little economic power, the girls have started to desire different futures for themselves.
After two years, unfortunately the program began to make the situation even worse for young girls. Working sixty hours per week, not touching their salaries and losing their jobs when they become eighteen years old resulted for most girls to accept their “predetermined fate”. They went back to get married early and obey to their parents. But not Zeynep!
Nezahat
Nezahat was registered years after her birth. She was the seventh child of a nine children family. She lost her father at the age of five. Her mother became more authoritative shouldering the responsibility of being a father and a mother at the same time until the eldest son became an adult. Nezahat was left at the mercy of her eldest brother. She was twelve years old when she was engaged to Mahmut. Mahmut was a friend of Nezahat’s brother. She dropped schooling and tried to learn how to tend a husband and a house. She was married to Mahmut in 2016 though she has met him once or twice in her life.
Mahmut
When Mahmut experienced the first night with Nezahat, a very young girl lying on his bed trembling of fear of him, he understood what a great mistake he has commited. He couldn’t live with her, so he left to work in Kuwait coming back once or twice a year while she waits for him in his family house. Now, after two years of marriage, Mahmut wishes to get a divorce.
Ahmet Necdet Çupur
Ahmet Necdet Çupur worked for three years in Iraq and Afghanistan during the war as a civil engineer. He decided to be a filmmaker and moved to Paris. Two years after his arrival, he got funding from CNC for his short film ‘Latin Babylon’. The year he completed his film, he returned to his village in Turkey, after twenty years, and shot LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES a documentary about his family with the funds from CNC France, Sundance DFP for production, World Cinema Fund of Berlinale among others The documentary made its world premiere in the official selection of Vision du Reel in 2021.
DIRECTOR
Ahmet Necdet Çupur
DOP
Ahmet Necdet Çupur
​
ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE
Lucie Baudinaud
​
PRODUCER
Delphine Morel
Anke Petersen
Nadir Öperli
SOUND
Ahmet Necdet Çupur
Gürkan Özkaya
Johannes Grehl
EDITING
Mathilde van de Moortel
Elif Uluengin
Nicolas Sublarti
MUSIC
Paradox Paradise
John Gürtler & Jan Miserre
DURATION
92 min
YEAR
2021
COUNTRY
France, Germany, Turkey
LANGUAGES
Turkish, Arabic
SUBTITLES
English, French
​​​tsproductions.fr
Paris, France
​​jyotifilm.de
Hamburg, Germany
​limanfilm.com
Istanbul, Turkey
​​​deckert-distribution.com
Leipzig, Germany
​​noisefilmpr.com
Berlin, Germany
Producer
Delphine Morel
dmorel@tsproductions.net
Co-Producer
Anke Petersen
anke@jyotifilm.de
Co-Producer
Nadir Öperli
nadir.operli@limanfilm.com
screenings & festivals
Berlin
screenings on the 22th and 31. of March 2023
Rome International Documentary Filmfestvial
Italy
screenings between24th and 30. of September 2022
Türkisches Filmfestival Berlin
Germany
screenings @Babylon between 14th and 18th. of September 2022
Romania
screenings between13th and 22. of May 2022
Romania
screenings between13th and 22. of May 2022
Germany, & Poland & Czech Republic
screenings between17th and 22. of May 2022
Portugal Premiere
screenings on the 17th of May 2022
Belgium
screenings from 5. to 13. of May 2022
Warsaw premiere
screenings from13. to 22. of May 2022
Croatia premiere
screenings on the 6. and 9. of April 2022
Italian premiere
screenings on the 6. and 10. of April 2022
Filmreihe Typisch Türkisch
Cologne premiere
screenings from 25. March - 27. March 2022 also online!
Munich premiere
screenings from 25. March - 10. April 2022 also online!
26. Filmfestival Türkei Deutschland
nuremberg premiere
screenings from 11. March - 20. March 2022
Bulgarian premiere
screenings from 10. March - 31. March 2022
DOC POINT HELSINKI
finnish premiere
screenings from 31. January - 6. February 2022
FIPADOC
french aquitaine region premiere
screenings from 17. January - 23. January 2022
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT FESTIVAL
Istanbul premiere
screenings from 26. November - 2. December
CINÉMA VÉRITÉ
Iranian premiere
Teheran is calling! Cinéma Vérité ID from 9. - 16. December
CINEMAMED
Belgian premiere
Cinemamed Festival in Brussels from 02. - 11. December
HRFF
Zurich premiere
Zurich Human Rights Film Festival from 02. - 07. December
IDFA
Dutch premiere
5 screenings in the Best of Fests section @IDFA from 18. - 28. November
KASSELER DOKFEST
German premiere
Regional Premiere on the 21. of November
RIDM MONTRÈAL
North American premiere
Regional Premiere on the 14. of November
CAMERIMAGE
Polish premiere
Regional Premiere on the 14. of November
GUANGNEUNG GIFF
South Korean premiere
Regional Premiere in the week of 22. - 31. October
WEST LAKE IDF
Chinese premiere
Regional Premiere in the competition programme from 22. - 25. October
CINEMED
french screening
documentary section in Montpellier, 15. - 23. October
BFI LONDON
UK premiere
Regional Premiere in the dare program
ADANA GOLDEN BOLL FILM FESTIVAL
Turkish premiere
Turkish Premiere in the the national feature film competition
FLAHERTIANA
Russian premiere
Regional Premiere in the international competition program
FARAD DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
Romanian premiere
Regional Premiere in the competition program
SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL
Bosnia Herzegovina premiere
Regional Premiere in the competition program Tuesday 17 of August
DOCS BARCELONA
Spanish premiere
Spanish Premiere in the official section panorama 18. - 30. of May
VISIONS DU RÉEL, NYON, CH
World premiere
World Premiere in the festival's main competition 23. April - 26. of April
VISIONS DU RÉEL, NYON, CH
visionsdureel.ch
world premiere
World Premiere in the festival's main competition 23. April - 26. of April
awards & winnings
Best Cinematography & Zalab Distribution Award ROME INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILMFESTIVAL, Italy
PORDENONE DOCS FEST, Italy
Grand Jury Prize
54th TURKISH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION (SIYAD) AWARDS
Best Documentary
CINÉMA VÉRITÉ
www.tehrantimes.com
best film award
international competition
CINEMAMED BELGIUM
www.cinemamed.be
young jury award
official competition
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT FESTIVAL
www.icapff.com
jury special award
feature movie
CINEMED
www.cinemed.tm.fr
mention of Prix Ulysse Decipro - Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole
documentary section
FLAHERTIANA FiILM FESTIVAL
www.flahertiana.ru
second silver nanook | audience award
International competition
ADANA GOLDEN BOLL FILM FESTIVAL
altinkozaff.org.tr
best film award | best editing award | special jury mention to Zeynep Çupur
National feature film competition
SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL
sff.ba
human rights award
Competition Programme Documentary Film
VISIONS DU RÉEL, NYON, CH
special jury award
International Feature Film Competition
