Polluting Paradise

by Fatih Akin

Polluting Paradise

Synopsis

The mild moist breeze sweeping in from the Black Sea feeds the evergreen,
precipitous land that its inhabitants have transformed into a garden: A carpet of lush green, round tea bushes stretching out between pines and rhododendrons; the livelihood of the 1700 inhabitants of Camburnu. For generations the village in the northeast of Turkey has lived on tea cultivation on the slopes and fishing in the sea.
But this peace has been threatened since the government decided to build the largest garbage dump of the eastern Black Sea region in an area located above the village. "Our village is being sacrificed," says the mayor. He fears that soon no one will want to buy any more tea or fish from Camburnu, because the garbage dump above the village will poison the ground water and pipes will flush the waste into the sea.
The government in Ankara is famous for its fast and effective solutions. But at what price? The village's lawyers are fighting in the courts, because the construction of the landfill in the commercial and residential landscape also violates Turkish laws. And the local people are taking action to defend their rights. Women besiege the governor's car and block the bulldozers' access to the site. They are the heroes
of the resistance. Director/producer Fatih Akin came to Camburnu in 2007 to shoot the final scenes for "THE EDGE OF HEAVEN". That's when he discovered the paradise that was being polluted.

Director

One of Germany’s most internationally known and multi award-winning directors, Fatih Akin was born 1973 in Hamburg to Turkish parents. He studied film at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste (HfbK) in Hamburg and graduated in 2000. From 1993 to 2004 Fatih Akin worked with WÜSTE Filmproduktion, Ham- burg. In 2003 he founded his own film production company corazón international. In 2005 he has been a guest professor at the Hochschule für bildende Künste – HfbK Hamburg (college of fine arts). Fatih Akin was member of the juries at the Festival du Film International de Cannes (2005)
and the International Film Festival Berlin (2001).

Filmography (as Writer-Director):

2012 »Polluting Paradise«
2009 »Soul Kitchen«
2007 »The Edge Of Heaven«
2005 »Crossing The Bridge - The Sound Of Istanbul«
2004 »Head-On«
2002 »Solino«
2000 »In July«
1998 »Short Sharp Shock«

 
Selected Filmography (as Producer):

2009 »Min Dit - The Children Of Diyarbakir«
2008 »Chiko«
2006 »Takva -A Man's Fear Of God«

Crew

Director: Fatih Akin
Producers: Fatih Akin, Klaus Maeck
Cinematographer: Hervé Dieu
Sound: Joern Martens
Editor: Andrew Bird
Score: Alexander Hacke
Line producer Christian Springer
Production Manager Nurhan Sekerci
Commissioning Editor Jeanette Würl
Production: corazón international
In association with: NDR-TV and Dorje Film
Funded by: Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, FFA and DFFF


 

Technical Data

Format/Sound: 35mm / Color / 1:1,85 / Dolby 5.1
Length: 98 min.
Language: Turkish
Original title: Müll im Garten Eden

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Polluting Paradise
Polluting Paradise

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