Vanessa McMahon

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In my interview with actress Melissa Papel, we discussed her new film Off Karadeniz (2010), a Turkish film about a young girl from the region of Smyrna in Turkey.

me: "I'm so excited to hear about this film as I have been to Smyrna and Im fascinaed by this region of Turkey.Can you tell us about Off Karadeniz and what your role in the film is?"

Melissa: "Off Karadeniz, called "Smyn-Of" in Turkish, is a 95 minute comedy. It is the story of Melek, a young girl from Izmir (Smyrn), who just graduated from law school. For her first mission as a judge, she is sent to Of, a city witha bad reputation for its mafia and its overly conservative and religious aspects. Scared to death and completely depressed about the idea of going there, she will have to go through a variety of adventuresin order to fit in, and will actually discover that the people of that region and their lifestyles are not as bad after all..."

me: "What is it like being a Turkish TV star and moving into the world of international film?"

Melissa: "I can't say that I'm a star in Turkey, but working there means a lot to me. My mother is Turkish after all, and I feel like it's a way of honoring my cultural heritage to act there as well. I actually started with theater classes in Paris, and then went to Vancouver Film school in Canada to study Film and Television. I've travelled a lot in my life and I would really want to use all the languages that I know in my work. That is why my goal is really to be able to act in as many countries and with as many different people as I can. I never know what my next destination will be and I always keep a suitcase ready because everything can happen within a day!"

me: "Where is Turksh cinema going? Can you tell us about Turkish film and also co-production with other Black Sea countires?"

Melissa: "Turkish cinema is evolving very rapidly and very positively. Almost a hundred films have been made in Turkey this year, and that is a huge number for us! Also, some of these films, together with the onesfrom the past 5 years or so, are internationally known and appreciated.Some of them have won incredible prizes in international film festivals and have been aknowledged as masterpieces! So I'm veryproud of that and I feel like it's jsut going to keep evolving that way. I just wish that Turkish people would go to the movies more often, because that's really not the case at the moment..."

me: "Can you tell us about yout next film, The Precinct?" 

Melissa: "Yes! I have another film which will be coming out very soon. It's called "Theprecinct" and it's a co-production between 2 countries (Azerbaijan and Georgia). This one is very well done and I'm sure it'll have some success in some countries... it's a dramatic thriller. The story is set in Baku (Azerbaijan). A famous Azeri photographer has to choose between accepting a valuable job offer in Africa or marrying his fiancée (that'sme) – a young, talented sculptor inspired by images of ritual dances. Thephotographer decides to accept the job offer and – once again – postpones his wedding. During the ensuing quarrel, the photographer and his fiancée have a car accident along the road which leads to the ancient cave city of Gobustan. They later find themselves in a police precinct, where the photographer has to come to terms with his dread of women or he will not leave the precinct alive."

me: "Anything else you'd like to share before signing off?"

Melissa:  "I have some projects in line but I haven't signed for anything quite yetso I don't wanna jinx it!:))"

me: "Awesome, Melissa. Thanks a million. It's aperitif time!" :-)

For more info on The Pricinct, visit:

Interview by, Vanessa McMahon

For more information, you can check my personal website at:  www.melissapapel.com

me with Melissa at Cannes 2010