Based on Antoine Köpe’s private memoirs and unseen archive collection of unprecedented scope and beauty, Antoine the Fortunate tells the story of survival of a man and his family during the most turbulent times of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of modern Turkey.
Antoine was an Austro-Hungarian citizen of the Ottoman Empire who witnessed the Balkan Wars, fought in Palestine during WW1, experienced the occupation of Constantinople by the Allied forces and the turmoil which lead to the Kemalist Revolution and the declaration of the Turkish republic. His story is told through his memoirs and personal archive, which he started as a child in the early 20th century and continued throughout his life, including hundreds of never before seen home movies, photographs, sketches, comic strips, newspaper clippings, audio recordings and letters.
The documentary charts the rise and fall of the fortunes of this ordinary man and his family, as they struggle to survive and find their place in a changing world, helping us to make sense of the forces which swept through Turkey in the early 20th Century and transformed the lives of its inhabitants. Ultimately, it’s a first person tale about coming to terms with childhood, identity, and memory, but also a historical record of the transformation of Europe.
CREDITS
A FILM BY Nefin Dinç
WRITTEN BY Nefin Dinç, Apostolos Karakasis
PRODUCERS Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averof, Clara Vuillermoz, Heinrich Mayer-Moroni
EDITOR Angelos Angelidis
CINEMATOGRAPHY / REENACTMENTS Christina Moumouri
CINEMATOGRAPHY / INTERVIEWS Yannis Kanakis, Feza Çaldıran, Dominik Spritzendorfer, Ray Whitehouse
ORIGINAL MUSIC Carla Pallone
VFX - ANIMATION Yafka / Antonis Kotzias
HISTORICAL ADVISORS Christina Koulouri, Alekos Lambrou
PRODUCTION MANAGERS Elektra Peppa, Maud Guenoux, Fjoralba Koka, Canelle Kieffer-Silou, Juliette Bonnaud, Laurence Chassin, Ricki Oelmack
ARCHIVE RESEARCH Charlotte de Luppé
SOUND RECORDING Aris Kafentzis, Seçkin Akyıldız, Andreas Hamza
SOUND DESIGN Bernhard Zorzi
SOUND MIXING Michael Plöderl
MUSIC MIXING Patrice Guillerme
CAMERA ASSISTANTS Alexander Stigas, Onurcan Altıntaş, Engin Altıntaş, Akan Açıksöz
DI COLORIST Manos Hamilakis
DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE POST Authorwave (Liza Chrysochoou, Maria Tzortzatou, Panagiotis Karachalios)
LEGAL Eleni Nikolaidi
SALES Doris Weitzel / Point du Jour International
A FILM PRODUCED BY ANEMON PRODUCTIONS, POINT DU JOUR - LES FILMS DU BALIBARI and EPO-FILM
CO-PRODUCED BY ORF, HISTOIRE TV, COSMOTE TV
IN ASSOCIATION WITH FRANCE TELEVISIONS, lCD RDI
WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CREATIVE EUROPE PROGRAMME OF THE EU, EKOME, CENTRE NATIONAL DU CINEMA ET DE L’IMAGE ANIMÉE, REGION PAYS DE LA LOIRE, MOIN FILM FUND HAMBURG SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, MEDIENBOARD BERLIN-BRANDENBURG, PROCIREP-ANGOA, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON D.C.
CVs
DIRECTOR / WRITER
Director Nefin Dinç’s films include ‘The Other Town’ (2011, Thessaloniki
Documentary Film Festival Audience Award, 2nd Annual Greek Film Fest Chicago
Best Historical Documentary Award) and ‘Through My Lens’ (2015 TRT Best
Documentary Award). Nefin taught documentary filmmaking at State University of
New York, Fredonia (2005- 2013) and was Project Director of FilmTurkey Project,
teaching young Turkish students to make films about human rights. She is currently
teaching at James Madison University School of Media Arts and Design.
CO WRITER
Apostolos Karakasis is a documentary script consultant and director based in
Thessaloniki, Greece. He has directed several programs for the Greek public
broadcaster ERT on cultural and historical issues, while his independent cinematic
work includes the documentary features “National Garden” (2010) and “Next Stop:
Utopia” (2015) that have received numerous awards and international distribution.
He is a professor at the Aristotle University Film School.
PRODUCERS
Based in Athens, Anemon Productions produces documentaries for the
international market. Recent films include When Tomatoes Met Wagner (Greek Film
Centre, ARTE, Cosmote TV, NHK, ERT / premiere at the Berlinale 2019, Greek
selection for the Academy Awards), Hellenic Academy winner Dolphin Man (2017,
ARTE, CNC, WOWOW, Greek Film Centre, Knowledge Network, TVO, ERT, CYBC, SVT,
Yes DBS, TSR), IDFA nominated Kismet (2016, ARTE, Al Jazeera, SVT, RTS, YLE,
Knowledge, Channel 8) and FIPA winner A Family Affair (2015, ABC, ERT, OTE-TV,
Greek Film Centre). www.anemon.gr
Les films du balibari focuses on documentaries with a unique voice for cinema and
TV. Their films travel to major festivals such as IDFA, Hot Docs, Visions du Réel,
Cinéma du Réel, FESPACO, amongst which Village Without Women by Srdjan Sarenac,
The Man Who Made Angels Fly by Wiktoria Szymanska, Brave as Lions by Françoise
Davisse, Ouaga Girls by Theresa Traore Dahlberg (copro Momento).
Epo-film is a Vienna-based top-tier production company established in 1954,
providing international high-profile content for cinema and TV. It produces feature
films, TV movies, nature and documentary films with an expertise in configurating
and funding projects through European subsidies and co-productions.