Dinner with Servİs [The School Bus]

Interview with Ramazan Kiliç, director of Servİs [The School Bus]

Is the film based on a true story? What inspired you to tell it?
Not exactly! It includes both a true story and fictional events. I was inspired by a story from the news on Twitter about a female teacher who drives a school bus for her students, but behaved like a male driver! There is also a film called Driver Nebahat which tells the story of Nebahat, who has to do a traditionally man’s job in order to exist in the public arena and gain her economic independence, and poses the question: should a woman “become mannish” in order to survive in a man’s world? I used a small part of this film at the opening of my film. It was one of the famous “butch” characters in the history of Turkish cinema. In the film, there are many different forms of gender discrimination that Nebahat has to deal with. Ultimately, the only way for her to be recognized as a driver is to “become mannish”! I connected the news that I saw on Twitter with the film Driver Nebahat. Then I found the time periods are different, but the image of women still is the same! These images of women disturbed me a lot. I asked myself the same question again: should a woman “become mannish” in order to survive in a man’s world?”. My answer is no. At that moment, I think that it was a brilliant idea to make a film about that female teacher. But I changed the idea a little bit because I want her to drive the school bus like a woman, not in a mannish way! I started to work on that idea, to which I added some of my past experience. Finally, I created a story based on both true and fictional events.

How familiar are you with this particular region? Why did you choose to set the film there?
I was born in the East part of Turkey. My hometown is Ağrı which has a border with Iran. I wanted to shoot the film in my hometown. But the governor did not allow me to shoot the film there. So, I needed another location to set the film. I went to high school in Bolu, a city in the North of Turkey. I searched many places. Along with the filming locations, I needed an old school in the village as well. Finally, I found one, in a district of Bolu: Kıbrıscık that has a population of 1,200. The geography of Kıbrıscık reminds me of my hometown – it was a good location to set the film. But we couldn’t use the school because the villagers used it as a village mansion. It was not a school anymore. So, we redesigned the school according to the script. All in all, we set the whole film in Kıbrıscık.

What is your background as a filmmaker?
I was born and grew up in Ağrı. My origin is Kurdish. I studied primary and secondary school in Ağrı. Then I moved to Bolu to attend high school. During high school, I was interested in theater and joined a private theater as an actor and writer. I worked for two years, then I got a full scholarship to go to university. I am currently studying Cinema and Television at the College of Communication, Şehir University, in Istanbul, with a minor in Turkish literature. So far, I have made four short films. One is Penaber (Refugee) which is about a refugee woman who escapes from the civil war in Syria and tries to live in Istanbul. The second is Miğfer (The Helmet), about five Turkish soldiers stuck in a trench during the Gallipoli War. The third is Depo Işçileri (Warehouse Workers), a story about uninsured workers. The last one is Servİs (The School Bus).

Tell us about any upcoming film projects you have. What would you like to explore?
Well, I have three short film projects. Two of them will be an adaptation from a writer I like very much. One of the adaptations is about the Kurdish issue. The other is black humor. The third one is a personal story is about the first years when television came to our home. It is a tragicomic story. I wanted to shoot it in my hometown. I also have two feature film projects. One of them is also an adaptation from my friend who is a writer and storyteller. It is about a barber who tries to get a will from his mother (also a tragicomic story). I have already written the synopsis and the treatment for it. And I have sent it to apply for support from the Script Development Funding. The other is a feature version of Servİs. Mostly, I am interested in comedy, black humor and drama genres. What I look for is a good story in the foreground and social criticism in the background.

Are there any works of art or films that have inspired you?
Apart from the films, there are three things that have inspired me: literature, painting, and photography. I like to read a lot. During the reading periods, I explore many things. Such as many different characters, the world of the story, creating an atmosphere, etc. Usually, when I read a book, I create a link between the events in the story and my own past experience, which helps me a lot when I create a story or write a script. As for painting, it helps me with what a film’s world will be like and with what color tone, and it gives me an idea for creating a mise-en-scène. Regarding photography, when I look at any photos, I try to feel the emotions behind them. And I try to create a story based on those photos. For example, my story about the first years of television is inspired by a photo taken by Reza Deghati. He even shot that photo in my hometown. How can I not tell this story? Apart from these, I was inspired by many films. No matter how good or bad they are. If you understand cinema, you have to watch many films and analyze them. For me, watching films is the main thing to learn how to make films. I watch as many films as I can. And I learn many things from these films – how to create a tempo, a world, an atmosphere, and how to use lenses, light, camera movements in a proper way. And many other things. So, after learning from the movies, I am inspired by them and practice them on my project, as long as they serve the story.

Would you say that the short film format has given you any particular freedom?
Of course, it gives me more freedom than the feature format. It allows to try many ways to tell a story. It is a kind of experimental field that leads you to find the best style for a directing career. Besides, for me, the most important thing about the short film format is that you can tackle serious topics or issues in a short and effective way. In the digital and technological era, telling stories in a “short and sweet” way has become more significant. I always compare the short film format to the “elevator pitch.” In the elevator pitch, you just have one minute to tell your story to the producer. That applies to the short film as well, you have limited time to tell your story. And it also gives you more creativity. The short film format is more creative than the feature format.

Servİs [The School Bus] is part of International Competition I8.