Mu Tunç (born August 21, 1986) is a Turkish director, writer, film producer, and actor.[1][2] His directing work includes feature films,[3][4] digital web-series,[5] commercials, and music videos.[6] Tunç received international recognition[7][8][9][10] in 2018 for directing the teen drama Arada, which has been seen as one of the first punk films of Turkey.[11][12][13]

Mu Tunç
Born (1986-08-21) August 21, 1986 (age 38)
Istanbul, Turkey
EducationDesign
Occupations
Years active2010–present

Early life and education

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He was born in Istanbul. His father, Altan Tunç, was a singer in the '70s.[14] His brother Orkun Tunç (ex. member of Turkish punk band Rashit) is a musician and music producer who is one of the pioneer members of the first punk hardcore bands in Istanbul.[3] He graduated from Design with an M.A. in Cinema.[15][16]

Career

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Advertising

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Tunç began his career in digital advertisement and marketing before directing his feature films. After graduating from Design, Tunç started working on international digital agencies such as; McCann, and he led the creative process of several advertising and marketing campaigns, including brands like Coca-Cola, L'Oreal, MasterCard, Starbucks, and many other international brands.[17]

Branding

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Tunç also concentrated in the field of brand management. In 2012, he worked on the global streaming service company MUBI as a brand director and assisted them in developing their "one-film-per-day" subscription model.[18] Tunç launched the LomoKino camera on Cannes Film Festival, which Apichatpong Weerasethakul shot an experimental short film titled Ashes with the camera.[19][20][21] In 2016, Tunç worked with high-end streetwear brand Les Benjamins and assisted them in constructing their brand identity.[22] He empowered them to present their Milan Menswear debut show Ottoman Punk in Milan Fashion Week together with former fashion editor of L'Uomo Vogue, Robert Rabensteiner.[23] Vogue called the presentation an "unexpected highlight of the season."[24]

Web series

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Tunç began his directing career as an independent filmmaker in 2010[25] with his online series called Diary of Mu.[26][27] The project portrays naturalistic conversations that happen in real places with artists and creators from all around the world. Tunç started the project in Paris and shot a variety of artists such as; André Saraiva,[5] Roisin Murphy, Asia Argento, Melissa George, Francesco Carrozzoni, Tracey Emin, Dario Argento, and many more.[28][29][26]

Feature films

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Tunç made his feature film debut in 2018 with Arada, which he wrote and directed.[30] The story set in 90's Istanbul and chronicles a young punk who decides to move to California in pursuit of a successful music career and sets on a journey through Istanbul's underworlds in search of a ticket.[11] The film was based on Tunç's childhood years spent filming his brother's gigs and recording Istanbul's music subcultures.[3][7][31]

Arada opened nationwide on April 13, 2018, in 81 theaters[32][33][34] and premiered in international film festivals[35][36] and museums.[37][38][39][40] The film gained cult popularity by being one of the first punk films in Turkey.[11][41][3][42][13] According to Joseph Pomp; "Arada offers a full-blown survey of the tensions between globalist liberalism and traditional values that, to this day, constitute the pulse of Istanbul."[7]

Music videos

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Tunç directed a variety of music videos for acclaimed artists from New York to London to Reykjavik to Tel Aviv. He directed a music video for Randall Dunn's first solo studio album titled Beloved for the song "A True Home", featuring as guest vocal Zola Jesus which premiered on NPR in 2018.[6][43][44][45]

In 2019, Tunç worked with American musician Alex Toth (known from Brooklyn band Rubblebucket) and shot a music video for his song "When I Awoke," which influenced by Tarkovsky's sci-fi film Stalker.[46][47][48] He worked with Israeli artist Liraz Charhi for her solo record and shot her music video for the song titled "Zan Bezan".[49][50][51]

In 2020, Tunç directed a music video for acclaimed Icelandic singer Gyða Valtýsdóttir for the song "Í Annarri Vídd" from her solo album Evolution which premiered on Vogue Italia.[29]

Influences

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Tunç stated in his interviews that he influenced by; John Cassavetes,[15] Michael Mann, F. W. Murnau, Nicholas Ray, Luis Buñuel, Kevin Smith, Spike Lee,[31] and Richard Linklater and early 80's Los Angeles and Washington D.C. punk bands.[52][53]

Accolades

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  • Cinedays Skopje Film Festival: Winner Young Cinema Award (2018) [54]
  • International Izmir Film Festival: Winner Special Award (2019) [55]
  • Rome Independent Film Festival: Nominee RIFF Jury Award for Best Film (2018) [56]
  • !f 17th Istanbul Independent Film Festival: Nominee !f New Audience Award (2018) [57][58]

References

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  1. ^ Delaney, Louise (6 June 2019). "Mu Tunc is Bringing Punk Back to Istanbul". Culture. OFFICE Magazine New York.
  2. ^ Meric, Sercan (11 February 2018). "Türkiye'nin ilk punk filmi: Arada". Sozcu Newspaper. Istanbul.
  3. ^ a b c d Whitehouse, Matthew (11 January 2018). "The untold story of istanbul's 90s hardcore scene". i-D Magazine. London: VICE.
  4. ^ Basturk, Onur (9 April 2018). "Haftanın kulübü ve filmi". Hurriyet Newspaper. Istanbul.
  5. ^ a b Ho, Matt (19 November 2014). "André Saraiva on His Early Days as a Graffiti Artist". HYPEBEAST. Hong Kong.
  6. ^ a b Gotrich, Lars (13 November 2018). "Watch Randall Dunn's Synth Odyssey, 'A True Home,' Filmed In Oman Desert". NPR. New York.
  7. ^ a b c Pomp, Joseph (7 August 2019). "Mu Tunç's Cinematic Ode to Istanbul's Punk History". Lindsay Magazine. New York.
  8. ^ Klinkenberg, Alistair (11 October 2018). "ARADA: The Incredible Story of Punk's Turkish Infancy". Monster Children AUSTRALIA. Sydney.
  9. ^ Nakagawa, Shimpei (18 December 2018). "「兄貴はシーンの祖で、僕はビデオをまわした」音楽が潰されたトルコ、90'sティーンたちの〈誰も知らないパンクシーン〉". HEAP Magazine JAPAN. Tokyo.
  10. ^ Dobis, Jay (9 October 2018). ""Arada": Can A Punk Rocker Escape a Tumultuous Turkey?". MUBI Notebook.
  11. ^ a b c Milner, Daphne (26 October 2018). "THE COMPELLING STORY BEHIND ONE OF TURKEY'S FIRST EVER PUNK FILMS". INDIE Mag. Germany.
  12. ^ Bacak, Armagan (25 January 2018). "Türkiye'nin ilk Punk-Rock filmi: Arada". GQ Turkey. Istanbul.
  13. ^ a b Robb, John (20 November 2018). "Arada : Film review : fast paced Turkish punk rock movie is a Mean Streets Scorsese rush of beautifully shot action". Louder Than War. Manchester.
  14. ^ Alemdar, Melis (1 March 2018). "Should I stay or go? A young Istanbul punk wonders". TRT World. Istanbul.
  15. ^ a b Bengi, Duygu (1 September 2017). "Arada: Mu Tunç". Based Istanbul. 21. Istanbul: 4.
  16. ^ "OneBeat 2019 Collaborating Artist". OneBeat Cultural Organisation. 2019.
  17. ^ Toprak, Cigdem (1 May 2019). "Underground unter Erdogan". DIE WELT Germany.
  18. ^ Toor, Amar (6 October 2015). "How a small streaming site became the Netflix for indie film". The Verge.
  19. ^ Kasman, Daniel (5 June 2012). "Keep It Mysterious: A Conversation with Apichatpong Weerasethakul". MUBI Notebook.
  20. ^ "Presenting LomoKino MUBI Edition & New Apichatpong Short "Ashes"". News. MUBI Notebook. 19 May 2012.
  21. ^ "Lomography & MUBI at Cannes Film Festival". Lomography.
  22. ^ Peltier, Claire (24 February 2016). "This Fashion Brand Works To Unite Eastern And Western Cultures In The Most Fascinating Way". A Plus. New York.
  23. ^ Staff, i-D (18 Jan 2016). "Les Benjamins Bring Ottoman Punk to Milan". i-D. VICE.
  24. ^ Leitch, Luke (18 January 2016). "Les Benjamins Whirls Into Milan". VOGUE. New York.
  25. ^ Özdemir, Berceste Gülçin (May 2019). Türkiye'de Bağımsız Sinemaya Dair Tartışmalar. Istanbul: Nobel Bilimsel Eserler. ISBN 978-6056928765.
  26. ^ a b KANIBELLİ, ALYA (23 September 2019). "Gelecek Bu Enerjide: Mu Tunç". GQ Turkey. Istanbul.
  27. ^ Atılgan, Yigit (11 April 2018). "1990'lar İstanbulunda punk ve "Arada": Mu Tunç". Bant Mag. Istanbul.
  28. ^ "diaryofmu.com Presents Roisin Murphy Diary". Elma Alt Shift. 8 June 2011.
  29. ^ a b BELLINI, ELISA PERVINCA (14 January 2020). "Madre natura: il video í Annarri Vídd di Mu Tunc". Vogue Italia. Milano.
  30. ^ Westad, Jan Peter (1 October 2019). "ARADA: Mu Tunç discusses his directorial debut set in Istanbul's 90s punk scene". TANK Magazine. London.
  31. ^ a b Clugston, Hannah (14 September 2018). "A personal trip through Turkey's punk scene". Huck Magazine UK.
  32. ^ "Box Office Details for ARADA". Box Office Turkey. 13 April 2018.
  33. ^ "Box Office Details for ARADA". Box Office Mojo. 13 April 2018.
  34. ^ Afsar, Gulay (19 April 2019). "'ARADA' KALMAK!". Milliyet Newspaper. Istanbul.
  35. ^ "Rome Independent Film Festival". RIFF Rome Independent Film Festival. 17 November 2018.
  36. ^ "SENSORIA Music & Film Festival". SENSORIA Music & Film Festival. Sheffield. 1 October 2018.
  37. ^ ElGenaidi, Deena (22 April 2019). "The Global Culture of Punk On Screen". Hyperallergic. New York.
  38. ^ Richardson, Mark (11 April 2019). "The Art of Rock: Four Museums Explore How We Connect to Music". New York Times. New York.
  39. ^ "ISTANBUL MODERN MUSEUM - Count Us In!". ISTANBUL MODERN MUSEUM. 29 November 2018.
  40. ^ "Director's Screening: Arada". MAD Museum of Arts & Design. New York. 6 Jun 2019.
  41. ^ Kroll, Yoni (9 June 2019). "Arada shows how punk is still putting the counter in counterculture". The Key - WXPN.
  42. ^ "Global Punk". SCREEN SLATE. 1 June 2019.
  43. ^ CHAPSTICK, KELSEY (13 November 2018). "SEE WOMAN TAKE RITUALISTIC VISION QUEST IN RANDALL DUNN'S STUNNING NEW VIDEO". Revolver Magazine.
  44. ^ Helman, Peter (13 November 2018). "Stereogum". Stereogum.
  45. ^ "Amerika'da Melisa Şenolsun rüzgarı". CNN Turk. 17 November 2018.
  46. ^ MURRAY, ROBIN (20 March 2019). "Premiere: Tōth - 'When I Awoke'". CLASH Music. London.
  47. ^ Heneck, Dylan (27 March 2019). "Tōth - When I Awoke". Indieshuffle.
  48. ^ Staff, BrooklynVegan (21 March 2019). "Tours announced: Frank Iero, slowthai, Fujiya & Miyagi, Deicide/Origin, more". Brooklyn Vegan.
  49. ^ "TRANS MUSICALES 2019 – Liraz Charhi, identité forte". Rolling Stone France. Paris. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  50. ^ Vural, Sinem (9 December 2019). "Sanatçı Liraz: Kadınların dans etmeye hakkı var". Hurriyet Newspaper. Istanbul.
  51. ^ Stisi, Par Bastien (28 November 2019). "Depuis Israël, Liraz chante l'émancipation féministe". Radio Nova. Paris.
  52. ^ Ildır, Aslı (17 April 2018). "İstanbul'da bir punk masalı". Time Out Istanbul. Istanbul.
  53. ^ Kearns, Burt (5 June 2019). "MU TUNC: THE DIRECTOR OF TURKEY'S FIRST PUNK MOVIE. OR, THE FALL OF EASTERN CIVILIZATION". Please Kill Me. Los Angeles.
  54. ^ LAZAREVSKA, MARINA (20 November 2018). "FESTIVALS: Award at Cinedays European Film Festival". Film New Europe.
  55. ^ "İzmir Uluslararası Film Festivali'nde ödüller sahiplerini buldu". NTV News Channel. 28 July 2019.
  56. ^ "ARADA". RIFF Rome Independent Film Festival.
  57. ^ "Female cinema professionals shine at this year's !F". DAILY SABAH Newspaper. 13 February 2018.
  58. ^ FitzHerbert, Billy (8 February 2018). "The 17th !f Istanbul Independent Film Festival: February 15–25". Yabangee.

Further reading

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Books

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