Belma Bas

“Could existing film auteur theory, if reconsidered, provide sufficient conceptual tools to deconstruct feminist films?” is one question stated in the article Author/ Auteur: Feminist Literary Theory and Feminist Film that caught my attention. An “auteur” is mainly the director who executes the words of an author and puts them into play with a motion picture. Currently, the argument is very simple, why are “auteur’s” focusing on accomplishing a block buster hit rather than actually taking the time to deconstruct their work process in order to produce a movie that does not project a stereotype? One common growing stereotype is a damsel in distress or a woman being insufficient to play the part of a hero. But if the author and the “auteur” are both a women, would “existing film auteur theory” change? It did when Belma Bas, a Turkish director, wrote and produced “Zephyr.”

Belma Bas introduced Turkey to Zephyr, an 11-year-old girl who is

left to her grandparents by her mother. Instead of focusing on the future and on her new life with her grandparents, Zephyr reminisces on her mother’s memory. Her absence has become her focus and takes a toll on her overall personality, causing her to be an unhappy little girl.

Bas as an author, wanted to make sure the film would focus on the absence of a mother and the affect it would have on an innocent child. The direction she chose for the movie was one that was surely not to categorize her as a feminist movie maker. According to writer Dorian Jones, ““Zephyr” drew condemnation from some female critics for its unsympathetic portrayal of lead female characters.” As an auteur, she played with the setting and the characters overall portrayal. “The lead female character in "Zephyr" is often portrayed in a less-than-positive light, which Bas says allowed her to avoid a feminist discourse.”

Bell Hooks, writer of the introduction “Making Movie Magic” describes film making relevant to us, the audience, with common stereotyping. ”Most people find it very difficult to journey away from the familiar and fixed boundaries.” In “Zephyr’s” case, this movie may be highly targeted to women because of the relationship between a child and their mother. However, the “boundaries” Hooks touches upon on are not present in this film, or at least not to me.

Bas also directed a short film named Poyraz which also features a child. However, Bas the auteur is mainly seen in this film. The landscapes she used to shoot the film in addition to the cloudy days Bas chose to record, portrayed very well the lifeless lifestyle of a young girl.

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/834/Poyraz---Boreas

Culture Unplugged; Poyraz/Boreas. Belma Bas 2006.
>http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/834/Poyraz---Boreas>

Indie Wire; Zephyr
<http://www.indiewire.com/film/zefir_zephyr/>

Jones, Dorian; “Women Directors Stand Their Ground In Turkey’s Film Industry”
<http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6240588,00.html>