Thursday, April 12

Ankara’s rock and metal music scene

Documentary film Black, Not Grey: Ankara Rocks! from the section “Musicians” was screened at Beyoğlu Sineması with the participation of the director Ufuk Önen and the film crew. The film, which shows Ankara’s rock and metal music scene from the 70s, the 80s and the 90s, took seven years to complete, said Önen, and added: “We watched the first edit and realized that it wasn’t quite what we wanted. Editing and making changes wasn’t going to do it. We tossed it out, and re-edited. We didn’t like that either. Then we did it again. After that, it became what it is. So we actually spent a lot of time to get here.” One of the screenwriters, Aycan Yücel, who is also the editor of the film, said: “I think what we cared most in making this film was to convey the right feeling to the audience. It wasn’t about researching it well, or finding the correct information and putting that into the film.” Co-writer Neslihan Atcan Altan also commented: “The people we interviewed didn’t know the questions beforehand. So they answered them on the spot. We did the shooting that way and carried on trying to put it all together in a smooth and fluid way.”