I’m not sure if I can say that the film has a direct message, but if you’ve had some sort of struggle in your twenties, you’ll most probably find something that speaks to you in thisfilm. cumentary, what odd diary filmed with a phone? Peace, that's just during the credits; after a few minutes of introduction, the film continues like an ordinary fiction film.
The protagonist is Defne, who studied art history and restoration in Paris. She experiences a shock, leading her back home to Turkey. A significant part of the film reflects on art, the art world, specifically the restoration of a painting and the tensions and internal struggles it brings. Another significant part delves into the girl's family relationships, intimacy, hierarchy, alienation, the quest to find one's place under the sun. The film is thoughtful and intimate.

The questions are answered by the film's director, Ozan Yoleri. He was born in 1992 and studied at Boğaziçi University in Turkey, where his secondary major was film art. He has also given lectures on photography and cinematography at the university's photo club. Before reaching his personal debut in feature films, he worked on several feature films on the artistic side. He is pursuing a master's degree in international business at Istanbul University.

Please tell us a bit about your film from the author's point of view. What inspired you to create this film? What is the main message that you would like the audience to understand or get from this film?

My starting point was the emotional chaos of the mid-twenties or the quarter-life crisis as the academics put it. I was 27 when I began putting down my first notes about the film. I was slowly coming out of that era, but the memories were still fresh: Lots of uncertainties, trying to figure out your future, career problems, friends moving abroad, your grandparents passing away. Hence, the film is an attempt to portray that era, as a transitioning phase in one’s life. Talking to my friends and watching other people of my age deal with similar issues, I came to realize that this confusing period was not limited to my entourage, and I decided to make my first film about that.
I’m not sure if I can say that the film has a direct message, but if you’ve had some sort of struggle in your twenties, you’ll most probably find something that speaks to you in this film.

Your film has a touch of documentary style. Please describe the process of scriptwriting. You did it together with Aysin Kadirbeyoglu, how was your working synergy? How many drafts did you write until the final version? What did you discuss during the writing process? How long did it take?

The script took about two years and roughly ten drafts to complete. We would focus on the character and the story development in our discussions and go on to write our scenes separately. Then we’d exchange the materials, give feedback and rewrite it once we agree on a common approach to a particular scene.
We are good friends from high school, so our collaboration was an extension of that. It provided us with a very safe space to openly discuss stuff and be bold with our criticisms when necessary.

The main character in your film is a female and the film is quite an intimate look into a woman's thoughts and soul, hopes and fears. Being a man yourself, why did you pick a female as the main character? What do you think, what did the filming process from the beginning to the end, teach you about women? Did you learn something new?

My creative team was composed of very talented women (including my co-writer, my DoP, my producers and my co-editor) and their help was fundamental in going into the depths of the main character. This also goes with my lead actress, Ahsen, who did an amazing job in constructing the Defne we see on screen, especially the intimacy you mentioned.
My answer to the last part of the question will sound cliche, but during filming I witnessed so many times that women have a far-reaching understanding of things. There are many in-between notes and emotions that sometimes just go unnoticed by me in ordinary life. Sometimes this was also the case with a scene. Ahsen and I have known each other for
quite some time, and I was expecting a lot of questions before and during filming. Yet, after investing herself fully into the role, she started to go into places that I never knew were there in the first place. Her portrayal goes 360 degrees, and I’m thankful that she showed me all that. The last scene of her with her mother is a good example in this regard.
Going back to the first part of the question: I don’t really know. I had the idea of an expat coming back to Istanbul from very early on and it was always a woman. When Aysin came on board, it got easier to develop the script, as she had a fresh expat experience at the time. I’m just glad that I took on this challenge in the end.

The family relations are very important in your film. Is this something general, common, that we see in this film about Turkish culture? Is this film more universal to all of the world or close to the culture of your country? What do you think?

‘Important’ might not be the right word to describe it, but family relations tend to still have a strong presence even in adulthood in Turkish families. It’s not uncommon to feel the shadow of the family on an individual, even when she’s long gone from her home. This is probably not the exact case in cultures that are more individualistic.
Having said that, in Defne’s case, her ongoing struggle with her mother and her unresolved emotional distance, despite having left Istanbul almost a decade ago, is a more universal thread. Although it’s extremely hard to fully grasp for me as an outsider, the mother-daughter relationships are very delicate and complex at the same time. When I talk with my friends about these relationships, I see that there is seldom any intentional harm between mothers and daughters, but both parties end up hurting.

Was there room for improvisation during the filming? Did you change anything after you already had started the shooting session or did it all go as planned? Please describe in a few sentences.
The film was shot in three stages due to the changing seasons and cities and countries in the story. In between these stages, we would edit the material and change the script wherever we felt necessary. Therefore, it was a work that evolved as we shot more material.

There was always room for improvisation in dialogue during the shooting. I believe actors have their own way of making the character theirs; therefore, I try to give them room to play with their lines, as long as the structure of the scene remains intact.
The bigger deviations from the script, on the other hand, usually happen during rehearsals. There are several scenes in the script that were planned quite differently, but with suggestions coming from my actors (and my DoP) throughout the rehearsals, some of them worked better with alterations. Most of these scenes made their way into the final cut.

What brought you to films? Why did you decide to start learning film-making? Was there any particular event that made you realize that this wasffelt it wasilmmaking your path?

I was already into films at the time, but it was thanks to the film and literature class we had in high school that I was introduced to the craft. Our final exam was a short film project, which involved writing, shooting (with the available handy cams), and editing a short film. The whole process just fascinated me. Yet I didn’t major in filmmaking in college. There was this film certificate programme at my university, which was like a minor degree.
It was one of my professors from the programme, Mithat Alam, who convinced me that one could actually have a career in filmmaking. Luckily, right before my graduation, I met a prominent Turkish art-house director who was looking for an assistant for his new film. This was in 2015, and I’ve been in films ever since.

I know that many directors hate this question, but have you started working on some new film projects? What are your expectations for the future?

I actually don’t hate this question. “Inpainting” is wrapped up, and it’s out of my hands now, so it’s time to move on to new projects. Currently, I’m working on a new script, but it’s at a very early stage, which prevents me from disclosing much detail. For now, I can say that I’m planning to move away from Istanbul this time and go back to the Thrace region, where I was born and raised. There are several threads in my project notebook that seem to converge on making this a summer film.

Please tell us one wise piece of advice that you would give to your child: What is important in life?

I think this is a harder question than the previous one. My advice would be “being resilient.”. Life is rarely easy, and it’s OK to just get through the day sometimes. Things also change for the better from time to time.