What was the starting point or the initial idea for this film?
Is vacation the most basic human need? When we realized that we were both preoccupied with this question since we were very young, we wanted to take our camera and spend some time at the seaside. A major influence and inspiration on making this film was Agnès Varda’s Du côté de la côte, a short film that explored the French Riviera. Especially the subtle cynical humour paired with a sincere curiosity.
Her film set the tone for On the Coast. We found ourselves distancing from, yet familiarizing with this phenomenon, where vitality and boredom strangely coexist. We believe this notion of vacation exists in somewhat similar forms all around the world.
Can you share an important/funny/moving/surprising anecdote of the making-of this film with us?
We were in a village nearby Erikli (where we shot our film) in order to record the signal beep for the public announcements in the film. We spent the whole morning waiting by the speakers to record the beep preceeding the municipality’s morning announcement. Standing there anxiously, one after another, death announcements were heard from the speakers, only to be interrupted by an empty coffin carried out of a house behind us while tens of loud semi trucks drove by. It is bizarre enough of a feeling to be standing on a street corner with a fuzzy microphone and big headphones recording sounds, we felt like we were in the middle of a fictitious documentary.
What do you do when not making films?
Travel/move, teach, write, and talk about films.
What would you like to say to your audience before seeing your film?
We hope our film serves as a break from winter.
What project(s) are you working on this year?
We are working on a feature coming-of-age film which will most likely deal with a group of girls. Also, we have recently started collaborating with Kim Ki O, a musical duo from Istanbul.