Sci-fi Story - Independent Cinema - Part 3

Part 1
Part 2

Part 3

Half an hour after the meeting with Timur, my cell phone rang. The caller introduced himself as Berker Durusoy, the coordinator of Abyss Turkey, and asked if I was available.

-Yeah, sure.

-I wanted to talk to you about your latest project. Would it be possible to meet face-to-face today?

-I've got a busy schedule right now, so can I see you next week?

-I'm flying to Shanghai tomorrow to attend the annual meeting of Magnetic dreams. I hoped I could see you before I left.

-I'll cancel one of my meetings this afternoon.

-Thank you, I'll pass on the invitation to the meeting right away.

After eating lunch at an artisan restaurant, I made my way to Abyss's campus in Çatalca to meet Berker Durusoy. As the air was shining, Istanbul was filled with four propeller cruise balloons. The air taxi's autopilot decided to go up after driving at low speed between the balloons for a while. I think it was a hit decision. Otherwise, I would be late for the interview.

The headquarters of the Magnetic Dreams company was a quaint place in the woodlands. Because of the intensity of the air traffic, the taxi took a few laps over the runway surrounded by hologram statues, descending to drop me off as our landing sequence came.

Moving along the footpath between sycamore and spruce trees, on the right I saw buildings belonging to Abyss studios and the artificial lake, which I remember being used in several films. A young girl with led-lit wires across her hair greeted me at the door and took me to Berker Durusoy's room.

“Thank you for accepting my invitation, I know you don't prefer working with Abyss, although it's a great delicacy for you to come all the way here,” Berker said.

I said: "You're welcome; I thought it would be good to exchange views.”

“I knew you were an open-minded artist; I made the invitation with the confidence in that aspect of you. Although we have not been able to work together until now, I must say that I admire your work.”

“Thank you. I was surprised to receive such an invitation from you, and I thought that this kind of meetings is made with the producers.”

“There are also projects that we undertake directors. Last year we became one of Abyss' four innovation centers around the world. I have to say that the share of Turkish cinema masters like you is great in this success.”

“I don't want to take too much time. Why did you want to see me?”

“Although I don't know much about its content, I would like to work together on your next project. If you were to make a film using the latest technologies, without budget constraints, how would it work? As a moviegoer, I'm curious about the answer to that question.”

“I don't think the essence of my job is budget or technology. I have a producer that we've been working with for years, shoulder to shoulder. I'm guessing our mutual friend Doruhan told you about him.”

"If I were Mr. Timur, I would never want to leave with you. His projects with the directors other than you have failed. But you never tried working with another producer. I think you deserve wider budgetary opportunities and a higher wage. I also personally guarantee that you will have a wide area of freedom regarding your projects.”

“Why do you want to work with me so much? There are a lot of successful directors working with you.”

“I think that quality in art is important than quantity. In this land, great Turkish films were produced which received awards at prestigious festivals, but we have yet to make a classic film that has been rocking the box office around the world.”

“I have to admit that your effort to convince me caresses my pride. I still prefer to work independently.”

“I think I express myself with clarity. I won't insist anymore. By contradicting the general trend, I think you're taking an unnecessary risk. Thank you for coming so far, it was my pleasure to talk to you.”

“Are you sure that wanting to work with me is just about liking my movies? There is a commercial aspect to the event.”

"It is difficult to determine the sources of our motivations. Why, for example, do you refuse such an offer? Abyss will become the standard of film production. I think you're in for a challenge that you can't win.”

“The things that make us human are perhaps the decisions that seem irrational at first glance.”

"Of course, these decisions sometimes have unpleasant consequences.”

“We'll try and see.”

Why did I agree to attend the meeting when I knew I would refuse the offer? I didn't know the answer to that question, but it was sure that I had small-scale enlightenment about what my new film was actually about. On the way back, I began to think about how I could revise the insidious parts of the script and note the outlines of the changes to my pocket computer.

Image Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/QdAAasrZhdk