Interview with Ercan KESAL
Where the Sky of Our Childhood Go When We Grow Up?
This session will focus on Yenal Bilgici’s two books (“Cebimdeki Ekmek Kırıntıları” (2022) and “İsim Şehir Film Roman” (2024)) that accompany the narration of the life story of writer, actor, director and screenwriter Ercan Kesal.
Ercan Kesal’s life story, which began in Avanos, reaches the present day with his university days in Izmir, his years as a physician in Anatolia, his experience in France, his private hospital business in Istanbul, his meeting with Metin Erksan, his entry into cinema circles, and the diversification and enrichment of his artistic production, in these books, Ercan Kesal does not only tell an individual story, but also examines his family, the neighbourhood, town, regional culture, cities, various professional circles and society as intersecting circles. While Kesal deals with the interactions between the dynamics of his psyche and social dynamics, he also follows the projections of the political, social and cultural changes of the last fifty or sixty years of the country. The conversation will particularly focus on the consequences of this change, transformation and interaction that are evident in his psyche and in his artistic expressions.
Ercan KESAL He was born in 1959 in Avanos/Nevşehir. In 1984, he graduated from Ege University Faculty of Medicine. He worked as a health centre physician in Ankara, Keskin, Bala and villages for many years. He received applied psychology and social anthropology education during the years he started to work as a freelance physician. His first poems and writings were published in Dönem magazine published in Izmir. During his compulsory service years. he made interviews and wrote articles in Sion Prescription magazine. After 1990, he became one of the founders of Era Publications in Istanbul. He wrote in Şizofrengi. His stories and essays were published in Radikal and BirGün newspapers. He wrote screenplays. His cinema adventure, which started with his role in the film Uzak, continued as an actor and screenwriter in many films. His books Peri Gazozu in 2013, Nasipse Adayız in 2015, Cin Aynası in 2016, Bozkırda Bir Gece and Zamanın İzinde in 2017, Evvel Zaman and Kendi Işığında Yanan Adam in 2018, Velhasıl in 2019, Hekimlik Sanatları in 2023, Cebimdeki Ekmek Kırıntıları in 2022 and İsim Şehir Film Roman in 2024 were published. He directed the documentary called, Fındıktan Sonra and a feature film titled Nasipse Adayız.