Turkish film: Taksim Hold'em

What movie did you see?

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The set

Louis: Taksim Hold’em. Four guys play poker while police and demonstrators fight on the streets outside. The dense, symbolic, clever dialog is a debate between the four friends as they argue whether to get involved or not. Books on the shelves behind reflect their characters and beliefs. A goldfish bowl is symbolic of the enclosed world they swim in.

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Auguste: Was there any ad-libbing?

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Louis: Apparently not. Its origin had been a group friends being close to a demonstration but who elected to play football instead. That premise became a script passed back and forth and was rewritten many times. It was a tight script to work from.

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The crew at TIFF

Auguste: Did you ask a question in the Q&A?

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Louis: I wanted to ask if it was conceived of as a stage play and if being shot almost entirely in one room had reduced logistical complexities and production costs. I put my hand up six times but the chair didn’t send the microphone my way.

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Voice-over

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Afterwards the producer came up to Louis and asked what his question was. He answered that although it was written as a film script, it might become a theater drama. And that taking place in one room had certainly lowered production complexities and costs. THAT was a producer with good PR skills!

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