The Wild Pear Tree

press release: Turkey | 2018 | DCP | 188 min. | Turkish with English subtitles

Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Cast: Aydin Dogu Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Bennu Yildirmlar

Turkish master Ceylan follows up his Palme d’Or winning Winter Sleep with another epic of eloquence, as visually and thematically rich as ever. Fresh out of university, cocky aspiring writer Sinan returns to his small hometown to reconcile his ambition with the people and landscape that forged him. Absorbing in its novelistic depth and detail, The Wild Pear Tree is “immediately engrossing, like that wonderful experience of starting a hefty book late at night an finding oneself reading until dawn” (Mubi).

Premiere Showcase is the Cinematheque’s effort to bring the boldest and most exciting new cinema back to the big screen. Crafted with the same curat­orial acuity we bring to our repertory series, Premiere Showcase presents exciting new work by contem­porary directors that would otherwise have no theatrical venue in the area. Our selections for this calendar begin with a 3D showing of Blake Williams hypnotic 3D feature Prototype. Plus, The Wild Pear Tree, the latest from Cannes prize-winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Birds of Passage and Diamantino, two recent fest-circuit favorites showing as part of our annual LACIS series; and Origin Story, a new road-movie documentary which will be presented in person by director Kulap Vilaysack.