Private Project

Game, Interrupted

In 1979, during their winter break, two siblings aged 7 and 8 find their way out of boredom by switching from one game to another in a small apartment in Ankara. Their father passed away a few years ago, their mother is at work all day and their grandmother is sleeping on the couch as usual. However, something goes wrong that day. While trying to figure out what happened, they notice a strange intruder at the door, who resembles Khomeini or Darth Vader. They must fix the course of events before their mother returns home.

  • Ilayda Iseri
    Director
  • Ilayda Iseri
    Writer
  • Fehmi Ozturk
    Producer
    A Mother's Sonata (Director), Free Fun (Director)
  • Nefes Polat
    Producer
    Snow and the Bear, Penny Bank, Sibel
  • Tolga Karacelik
    Producer
    Butterflies (Director), Ivy (Director), Toll Booth (Director)
  • Bahar Sare Vural
    Key Cast
    "Ipek"
  • Mustafa Enis Bilir
    Key Cast
    "Gokhan"
  • Zeynep Kilinc
    Key Cast
    "Granny"
  • Bunyamin Karair
    Cinematographer
  • Fehmi Ozturk
    Production Designer
  • Firat Terzioglu
    Editor
  • Ilayda Iseri
    Composer
  • Seckin Caliskan
    Composer
  • Beyhan T.E.
    Art Director
  • Tugrul Gultepe
    Sound Design and Mixing
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Oyunbozan
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Historical Drama
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 1, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Turkey
  • Country of Filming:
    Turkey
  • Language:
    Turkish
  • Shooting Format:
    2K Video
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Bogazici University
  • Tampere Film Festival
    Tampere
    Finland
    March 10, 2023
    World Premiere
    Generation XYZ
  • Visioni Corte International Short Film Festival

    Italy
    October 2, 2023
    Italian Premiere
  • YOUKI International Youth Media Festival

    Austria
    October 11, 2023
    Austrian Premiere
  • LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Lover

    Germany
    October 7, 2023
    German Premiere
  • Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival

    Montenegro
    October 12, 2023
  • Muestra Intergaláctica Short Film Festival

    Mexico
    November 11, 2023
  • Seattle Turkish Film Festival

    United States
    November 17, 2023
    North American Premiere
Distribution Information
  • Ninova Films Distribution
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Ilayda Iseri

Ilayda Iseri was born in 2003 in Turkey. Her short documentaries Kozan (2020) and The Fountain (2021) were screened at distinguished festivals, including San Francisco International Film Festival, and received international recognition with several awards. Her first short fiction film“Game, Interrupted” won the best screenplay award at Akbank Film Forum and an honorable mention from Izmir Film Lab. She is currently studying philosophy and physics at Bogazici University, Istanbul.

Game, Interrupted (2023, Drama & Fantasy, 15’)
The Fountain (2021, Documentary, 19’)
Kozan (2020, Documentary, 6’)

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In “Game, Interrupted,” I aim to create a sharp contrast between the retrofuturistic sci-fi scenes with the documentary-style realistic depiction of the household in 1979’s Ankara, the capital of Turkey. This way, I intend to portray the weird socio-political atmosphere of the country in the most candid way through the eyes of children. It was the days just before the military coup intervention which commenced more conservative regimes in Turkey while in the neighbor regions like Iran, religious ideologies were rising radically. The Turkish middle class who generally admired the Western life style, followed these developments with concern but did not challenge to resist. On the other hand, unlike the desperate adults, the kids in the film are powerful enough not to submit to fate.

The screenplay is based on a multi-layered story and the question “Who interrupts the game?” is resolved sequentially. There are several candidates for the answer. The goalkeeper taking a penalty, the explosion heard from the street, the mother who’s never seen, the grandmother who falls over the tent, and the intruder who waits at the door. The plot unfolds swiftly with twists and ends up with a hopeful crescendo.

I tried to provide the creative background of the film by making references to the inspiring works of the masters and by including pop culture elements. Classic space scenes from Kubrick's Space Odyssey, the solitude of two wandering siblings in Angelopoulos' Misty Landscape, the circus tent in which Fellini's childhood was seized, Wes Anderson's pictorial cinematography, the daredevils of Stranger Things, 70's events, television commercials, football matches and science fiction characters...

Since I am an only child, what excited me the most while writing the script was the strong bond between the two siblings. I think there's something magical about them nourishing each other's imagination and creating a world of their own. I wanted to bring that magic to the big screen before I grew older, while I still look at the world with the eyes of a child.