'Turkish coffee', which has become one of the indispensable values of our culture, inherited from centuries ago, and 'coffee fortune-telling', which many people have made a habit of, became the subject of a documentary by young directors from Izmir. The documentary titled, "The Cafedomancy", prepared by Mert Fırat Sarıoğlu, a graduate of Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Radio and Television Programming, and Furkan Akdağ, a student of the Department of Cinema and Digital Media, is getting ready to meet the audience at the world-famous Cannes Film Festival in May. Young people from IUE, who stated that they aimed to introduce Turkish coffee to the world with the documentary, and that they got different answers from people why they had their fortune read, such as "Even if we don't believe in fortune telling, we get it read" and "It's for fun", said that, “We believe that we have prepared a documentary that will make a difference and attract the attention of the audience.”
Mert Fırat Sarıoğlu (23), a graduate of IUE Vocational School Radio and Television Programming, and Furkan Akdağ (23), a third-year student at the Faculty of Communication, Department of Cinema and Digital Media, turned their childhood friendships into project partnerships during the university period.
HISTORICAL PLACES WERE PREFERRED
The young people of IUE, who turned the documentary they first started to prepare as a result of an assignment, into a comprehensive project in a short time, focused on Kemeraltı, Alsancak and Karşıyaka as the venue. Sarıoğlu and Akdağ, who took shots reflecting the coffee culture in the historical places of Izmir and conducted interviews with people from different segments, prepared a 10-minute documentary after about a week’s work. The Documentary was shot under the supervision of Asst. Prof. Dr. Serkan Şavk and Lecturer Deborah Hardt from IUE Department of Cinema and Digital Media. The young people, who are preparing to attend the Cannes Film Festival in May, also aim to win an award at this year's Adana Altın Koza Film Festival with their documentary.
VERY EXCITING
Stating that the idea of making a documentary about Turkish coffee and coffee fortune-telling came out of an assignment, Mert Fırat Sarıoğlu said, “We wanted to talk about our culture and the richness we have and to announce it to the world. We chose the places in Kemeraltı, Alsancak and Karşıyaka, where coffee shops are heavily located, and the historical texture is clearly felt. The filming was fun and beautiful. The people around also showed a lot of interest. Coffee culture is a phenomenon adopted by everyone, young or old. Some drink coffee to relieve fatigue, some to chat, and some to increase energy. We completed the project based on the idea that we should shoot a detailed and interesting documentary about coffee. We will apply for the Cannes Film Festival in May. We will most likely be accepted. Even the thought of the documentary reaching thousands of people abroad is very exciting.”
SOME OF THEM COME OUT OF CURIOSITY
Stating that during the documentary filming, they received different answers from the people they asked about coffee fortune telling, Furkan Akdağ said, “We asked people who had their fortune read about how they felt. Some people answered, ‘Just for fun'. There were also people who said, ‘We don't believe in fortune telling, but we get it read anyway’, ‘We came just out of curiosity' and 'Let's see if s/he knows'. We have included such comments in the documentary. We feel very satisfied about the outcome. According to our research, our documentary is the first study on coffee culture and fortune telling. We are happy and proud to have accomplished a special project.”
