Synopsis
A man and a woman seeking refuge from the world: Nihat at a remote forest fire tower, Seher in her room at a rural bus station. Hiding away from others and fighting their battle of conscience alone, they get caught by each other. Once their lives collide, they have to fight the battle before each other.
Credits
| Director | Pelin Esmer |
| Screenplay | Pelin Esmer |
| Producers | Tolga Esmer |
| Co-Producers | Mustafa Dok |
| Associate Producers | Rémi Roy, Bénédicte Thomas (Arizona films, FR) |
| Supported by | Eurimages |
| Director of Photography | Özgür Eken |
| Editing | Ayhan Ergürsel |
| Art Director | Osman Özcan |
| Production Manager | Mustafa Dok |
| Assistant Director | Armağan Lale |
| Second Assistant Director | Mutlu Karadoğan |
| Continuity | Ülker Çağatay Munck-Hansen |
| Sound | Kasper Munck-Hansen |
| Boom Operator | Delphine Régnier-Cavéro |
| Sound Mix | Frédéric Théry |
| Foley Artist | Bertrand Boudaud |
| Focus Puller | Alexander Hergeledji |
| Gaffer | Ersin Aldemir |
| Bestboy | Ceyhun Parlak |
| Casting Director | Ezgi Baltaş |
| Costume | Asu Kızılırmak |
| Make-up | Dilek Zengin |
| Assistant Art Director | Samet Bilen |
| Production Manager | Hüseyin Çaksın |
| Grip | Mustafa Şahin |
| Making Of | Selkan Larlar |
| Post Production Supervisors | Selkan Larlar |
| Post Production Studio | The Post Republic (Berlin) |
| VFX Artists | Héctor Robles Fernández (the post republic) |
| Poster | Bala Kavlakoğlu |
| Translations | Lucy Wood |
Technical Info
| Original Title | Gözetleme Kulesi |
| English Title | Watchtower |
| Formats | DCP |
| Color | Color |
| Duration | 100' |
| Language | Turkish |
| Subtitles | English, French, Spanish, German |
| Aspect Ratio | 1:85:1 |
| Sound | Dolby Digital |
| Countries of Production | Türkiye-France-Germany |
| Production Year | 2012 |
| Poster Design | Bala Kavlakoğlu |
Cast
Olgun Şimşek
Nihat
Nilay Erdönmez
Seher
Menderes Samancılar
The Boss
Kadir Cermik
The Driver
Laçin Ceylan
The mother
Rıza Akın
The father
Mehmet Bozdoğan
The Chef
Nurettin İpek
Truck driver
Fatih Sağlam
Boy at the bus station
İzzet Aytaç
Shop owner
Serdar Orçin
Dağlı guard (voice)
Ahmet Rıfat Şungar
Yörükaya guard (voice)
Berk Hakman
Sugözü guard (voice)
Hakkı Kurtuluş
Harmanlı guard (voice)
Fırat Bayat
Ahmet (voice)
Ayça Sabuncuoğlu
Radio Newsreader (voice)
Press
Reviews
“Belgeselden kurguya Pelin Esmer sineması”
Evrensel, Dilara Bilgisel, 2021
“Mubi: Werkschau Pelin Esmer”
epd Film, Alexandra Seitz, 2021
L’humanite, L’express, Avoir Alire
Fiches Cinema, Positif
"Watchtower"
Kino Zeit
Berliner Morgenpost
“Flucht vor der Welt”
Saarbrücker Zeitung, Nadine Schneider
"Watchtower"
Tagesspiegel Ticket, Alissa Scheunemann
"Watchtower"
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Doris Kuhn
“Nur selten mal ins Dorf”
Stuttgarter Zeitung, Kathrin Horster
"Watchtower von Pelin Esmer"
Berliner Filmfestivals, 2014
“Bir yandan da hayat bizi gözetler!”
Popüler Sinema, Banu Bozdemir
"Watchtower Review"
BRWC, Ben Hooper, 2018
"Gözetleme Kulesi"
Ortakoltuk, Nusret Şen, 2015
"Gözetleme Kulesi"
Bir Dünya Film, Hürrem Celil Erdoğan, 2015
“Im Kino: “Watchtower”
Tip Berlin, Bert Rebhandl, 2014
"Tastende Berührungen"
Perlentaucher, Jochen Werner, 2014
“Es war einmal in Anatolien
Frankfurter Rundschau, Daniel Kothenschulte, 2014
“‘La Tour de guet’ : mélo mélancolique dans la forêt turque”
Le Monde, 2013
“La Tour de guet”
Famille Chretienne, 2013
“Un refuge ou s’affrontent deux consciences en crise”
L’humanite, D.W., 2013
“La Tour de guet”
Positif, V.T., 2013
“Critique: La Tour de guet, de Pelin Esmer”
Critikat, Benoit Smith, 2013
“La Tour de guet”
Le Canard Enchaine, Jean-François Juillard, 2013
“Thankful for World Cinema – Watchtower (2012)”
The Movie Rat, Bernardo Villela, 2013
“Vasatı aşamayan bir filmin çözümlemesi: Gözetleme Kulesi”
Ters Ninja, Utku Cansu, 2013
"Gözetleme Kulesi"
Monetafilm, Özer Akman, 2013
“Pelin Esmer’in Gözetleme Kulesi, kutsallaştıran aileyi sorguluyor”
Kazete, Mehtap Doğan, 2013
“Watchtower: Rotterdam Review”
The Hollywood Reporter, Neil Young, 2013
"Gözetleme Kulesi"
Filmloverss, Kübra Çağlayan, 2012
“Gözetleme Kulesi: Küçük bir ‘çoğunluğun’ hikayesi”
Sol, Cüneyt Çakır, 2012
“Gözetleme Kulesi: Yüreği olan söylesin…”
Kişisel Blog, Soner Sezer, 2012
“Her şey bir kısır döngüden ibaret”
Haber Türk, Kerem Akça, 2012
"Gözetleme Kulesi"
Beyazperde, Murat Tolga Şen, 2012
"Gözetleme Kulesi"
Kişisel Blog, Serkan Çelik, 2012
"Watchtower"
Frankfurt Tipp, Sebastian Betzold, 2012
"The Watchtower"
Screendaily, Howard Feinstein, 2012
“TIFF Capsule Review: ‘Watchtower'”
Indiewire, Jason Anderson, 2012
Theses & Articles
Festivals & Awards
Toronto International Film Festival / Canada (World Premiere)
Official Selection
Adana Golden Boll Film Festival / Turkey (Turkey Premiere)
Best Director Award, Best Actress Award, Best Supporting Actress Award, Best Supporting Actor Award, Best Cinematography Award
Rotterdam International Film Festival / Holland (European Premiere)
Official Selection
Göteborg International Film Festival /Sweden
Official Selection
Nuremberg Turkey – Germany Film Festival / Germany
Best Actress Award
Texas Victoria Indie Film Festival / USA
Crossroads Award
RxSM Underground Film Expo / USA
Best Actress Award
8. International Dadaş Film Festival / Turkey
Best Director Award, Best Actress Award
Brasilia International Film Festival / Brazil
Best Actress Award
Romania International Film Festival / Romania
The Grand Prize
Mannheim Turkish Films Festival / Germany
Jury Prize
Fribourg International Film Festival / Switzerland
Don Quixote Jury Prize
Tashkent International Film Forum / Uzbekistan
Best Film
Taipei Film Festival / Taiwan
Official Selection
