5 Star

A Tale of Truth and Consequences.

From writer, director, producer, cinematographer and editor Tofiq Rzayev (The Girl in the Woods, In a Time for Sleep) comes the next short from this young prolific filmmaker. Once again he has nailed the art of the short film that delivers a stunning story. That delivers a huge emotional and physical impact on those watching and those within the story.

From the start you feel claustrophobic in the back seats of a noisy car headed up a narrow mountain road. You don’t know why you are in the back of a car until the noise is cut by a voice (Zahit Battal Sari) coming through the cars 2-way radio. A police car with two officers (Ismail Mermer), (Erhan Sancar, Nihan: The Last Page (Short)) in the front ignore their Commissioner as the distraught man (Gökberk Kozan) in the back blankly stares out the car window.

It is a sad story, the individual is being taken to a crime scene to identify a body that was discovered at a secluded picnic area. The individual had previously alerted the police days earlier to his little sister (8 years old) going missing.

Emotions take over the individual and the police pull over as the the individual clambers out of the car and wretches.

Eventually the police get out and one of them goes to comfort the individual, whilst the other talks to their commissioner on the phone.

There is more bad news (No Spoilers) and the individual and the police don’t take it well.

Tofiq keeps the camera in tight with the individuals so you get to see all the emotions play out on each of the characters, and with these actors just starting out on their careers, they have done a cracking job.

“It is amazing how a few words can change everything”

English Title: Leftovers
Original Title: Geride Kalanlar
Country of Origin: Azerbaijan
Directed by Tofiq Rzayev
Written by Mehmet Fatih Güven, Alşen Buse Aydın & Tofiq Rzayev
Story by Tofiq Rzayev