Night of Silence

A tired and aging man just out of prison and a young and inexperienced teenage girl. Two contrasts forced together in a room where their arranged marriage must be consumated before sunrise. Reis Çelik’s film is a tale of how individuality must be sacrificed for the sake of the greater good – in this case the resolution to a long ongoing war between two families. But Night of Silence is also a story on how the rituals and norms of arranged marriages may overshadow the needs of emotional guidance, an allegory on how an entire society is collectivly forced to obey patriarchal customs. ess

Reis Çelik began his career as a political journalist in 1982. In the following years he directed several documentaries, as well as the TV-series Anadolu’dan Selam Postasi. He was also vital in the etablishing of one of the first private Turkish television channels, ATV. Night of Silence is his fourth feature film.