Second Annual Los Angeles Turkish Film Festival Opens With THE BUTTERFLY'S DREAM, 2/28

The LA Turkish Film Festival has announced that Yilmaz Erdogan's THE BUTTERFLY'S DREAM will be the festival's opening night film. The North American premiere will take place on February 28th at 7:00pm at Hollywood's Egyptian Theater, with a red carpet reception beginning at 5:30pm. The LA Turkish Film Festival will run through March 3^rd, with additional titles to be announced shortly.

THE BUTTERFLY'S DREAM is the story of two poets in the town of Zonguldak during the Second World War who fall in love with the same woman. To woo her, they will both write her a poem, and whichever she likes, the other will fade from the scene. The film was written and directed by Yilmaz Erdogan and stars Erdogan, Belcim Bilgin, Mert Firat and Kivanc Tatlitug, with Necati Akpinar and Pelin Ekinci Kaya producing. The original score for the film was composed by Rahman Altin.

You can view the trailer for THE BUTTERFLY'S DREAM here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyLBhoqmGLM&list=PLBB129DCAA9AF06CC

"Director Yilmaz Erdogan's films have been a box office success in Turkish cinema for the past 10 years. He spent seven years working on his most recent film The Butterfly's Dream, which is a true story featuring famous actors Kivanc Tatlitug, Mert Firat and Belcim Bilgin. The Butterfly's Dream holds the record for being made with the greatest budget in Turkish cinema history," said festival director Cenk Erturk.

"I believe that any story told in an intelligent and genuine way is universal. Cultural differences don't set us apart, but unite us. And what is more natural than for a child of Anatolia to tell Anatolian stories," said director Erdogan.

The LA Turkish Film Festival will also screen a series of nine shorts in a competition that was programmed by film critic and NPR's The Treatment host Elvis Mitchell. The nine finalists will be announced on the festival's webpage and the filmmakers will be flown to Hollywood for their film's screening. This year's festival jury is composed of both international and American veterans of the film industry including screenwriter and Vice President of the Writers Guild of America West Howard A. Rodman, Academy Award Foreign Language Film Committee Co-Chair Ron Yerxa, director Rob Nilsson, actress Belcim Bilgin and Semih Kaplanoglu, the Jury President and the director of Bal, winner of the Golden Bear at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.

Now in their second celebratory year, the Los Angeles Turkish Film Festival (LATFF) is a new and important medium that voices the fresh and productive recent developments in Turkish cinema. The festival prides itself on being a place where internationally awarded Turkish filmmakers meet a new generation of young directors, with the support of many names from the American film industry.