TEHRAN – “Silence Tree”, co-production between Iran and Turkey will be competing in the 39th Istanbul Film Festival, the organizers have announced

The movie directed by Turkish filmmaker Faysal Soysal will be screened on July 21 in the national competition of the event, which will commence on July 17.

Ali Nuri Oskui, director of the acclaimed Iranian animated movie “Release from Heaven”, is the co-producer of the movie.

The film is about Hayati, a writer whose talent as well married life worsens. He is deeply obsessed with reviving a dried walnut tree at his father’s house. The more he tries to dig into his father’s past and death, the more confused and lost he gets. Finding out about his wife’s affair is a terrible blow, but his seemingly weak character does not allow him to react the way he is expected to. While struggling to get rid of his hellish life, he meets his best friend’s fiancée, who looks so much like his own ex-girlfriend, inspiring him to write again. Surprisingly, the walnut tree starts budding, too. Just as hope flares up inside him, his mother dies and his wife elopes with her lover. He can no longer take it and leaves the town. A couple of days later, the police discover the burned body of a woman. Hayati is arrested and accused of murder. Though innocent, he pleads guilty. 

“Silence Tree” was first named “Walnut Tree”, but then it was renamed due to an Iranian production of the same title by Mohammad-Hossein Mahdavian. However, the film has kept the original name in its Turkish title. 

An all-Turkish cast stars in the movie, which has been produced at the companies Balkon Film from Turkey and Iran’s Farabi Cinema Foundation.

Eleven other films will be screened in the Istanbul Film Festival, which will announce the winners on July 27.

Photo: “Silence Tree” by Turkish director Faysal Soysal.

MMS/YAW