Everyone at Imagine Fantastic Film Festival is mad about genre (right?). For our new interview series Faces of Imagine, our special guests, crew members and volunteers tell us all about the fantastic fiction they love.
Next up: director Can Evrenol, who attended Imagine 2024 with his new film Sayara and also took part in a panel on Turkish Djinn horror.
Hi Can! Why do you love fantastic fiction?
‘I love it because it’s the best vessel and allegory to be anti-statical and to create protest art hidden under something that’s much more on the surface.’
What’s your favourite fantastic genre?
‘Some of my favourite subgenres are body horror, definitely, and supernatural giallo’s from Argento, Fulci and Bava. I also have a soft spot for arthousey, Dogma-type horror films.’
What’s your favourite scary movie?
‘My all-time favourites are Alien, for sure, because it’s very primal; Texas Chain Saw Massacre, for the same reason, and because it’s about family; and The Wicker Man, because it’s about hierarchy, power, society and religion. I could go on, but these three definitely do it for me.’
What’s your favourite movie character?
‘One of my favourites is Seth Brundle from Cronenberg’s The Fly. A mad scientist who turns into something terrible, as in Kafka’s Metamorphosis. It’s such a tragic character. And it’s also a love movie, I really like the relationship between him and Geena Davis so it’s absolutely heartbreaking when that shit goes down.’
In which fantasy world would you like to live?
‘I honestly don’t think I would want to live in any of the worlds of the films I like, because they are disastrous and dark and grim and suffocating. So I’d just need to escape… OK, I’d probably pick The Matrix, and Sliver. I’d find ways to get out and pretend it’s not there.’
Why did you become a genre filmmaker, and what’s your favourite about it?
‘I could give you an arsty-fartsy answer like ‘this is my destiny, I could never do anything else’, and that would be kinda true. But also…cinema and movies are my favourite things in life, and they’re a combination of every other art form. I’m not necessarily an extremely talented artist, but I have a craving for, and am good at, bringing talented artists together for a specific mission, which is what filmmaking is about. The filmmaking process is 50% artistry and 50% wedding planning, with a to-do list in your hand. I find the repetitiveness of such lists therapeutic, and I like going after things. I also love being on set and principal photography. And editing, too.’
What’s your favourite film quote of all time?
‘The last words of Apocalypse Now: ‘Horror, horror…”
Would you rather be a super hero or a master villain?
‘I think that once a human being is given those kind of powers, you’re bound to lose your morality and become something in between. Just look at Watchmen, or The Boys. It’s double-sided. Two-Face from Batman is one of my favourite characters. I’d be him.’
What are definitely going to watch at Imagine this year?
‘I’m only here for two days, but if I were to stay longer I would definitely check out Azrael and She Loved Blossoms More.’
Foto: Joao Costa
