Kağittan Hayatlar – Paper Lives

“Başkalarının çöpe attıklarıindan hayat kurmaya çalıştık biz.”
We tried to build our lives with what other people threw away
Gonzi.

Synopsis

In the pandemic summer of 2020, Çağatay Ulusoy shot a movie entitled “Kağittan Hayatlar” (Paper Lives.) In it, he interprets the surprising role of Mehmet, a solid waste warehouse manager in one of Istanbul’s impoverished old quarters characterized by dilapidated buildings and roaming street children. One day Mehmet, who helps homeless children and teenagers by employing them as paper collectors, finds an 8-year-old boy named Ali (Emir Ali Doğrul) in one of his recycling carts. After the child literally falls into his life, Mehmet starts to take care of him and attempts to reunite him with his family. As his relationship with Ali grows stronger, Mehmet finds the courage to confront his own traumatic childhood. On the Netflix website, the film is described as sentimental, emotional, dark, dramatic, and a tear-jerker… Does it get any more Turkish than that?

General Information

The film was produced by OGM Pictures for Netflix and was shot during the late summer of 2020 on location in Istanbul. It is directed by Can Ulkay, a multiple award-winning cinematic artist with several box-office Turkish hits under his belt, including “Müslum” (2018) and “Ayla” (2017.) Besides performing as the leading protagonist of the film, Çağatay Ulusoy also serves as one of the producers, marking the first time he will receive credit in this new professional role. Netflix will release the film directly on its global digital platform on 12 March 2021.

In addition to Emir Alí Doğrul (Ali), the cast includes several other child actors (Cumali Lavent, Civvan Lavent, Erdem Eren Ayaş, and Miraç Kuzey Erdemli). The rest of the adult cast is made of illustrious names of dramatic dizis such as: Turgay Tanülkü, who is a veteran Turkish cinema, series and theater actor renowned for his work with street children; Selen Öztürk, known to dizi audiences for “Azize” (2019); “Payitaht Abdülhamid” (2017-8); “Hatırla Gönül” (2015) and “Muhteşem Yüzyıl” (2011-3); and Ersin Arıcı, who had roles in “Avlu” (2018); “Insanlik Sucu” (2018); “Ufak Tefek Cinayetler” (2017–2018); and “Hangimiz sevmedik?”(2016-7.)

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