Gökalp Gönen
Storyteller
We started a new interview series focused on the production process of artists in various fields. The fourth guest is Gökalp Gönen, who defines himself as a storyteller and stands out with his animation movies.
In short, everywhere new. But I do have a few stable locations. A setup in the baking hot weather of Hatay with a chair and a laptop is where I wrote most of my scripts. The second one is sketching under an oak tree, which I visit a couple of times a year.t
I am a storyteller. The medium is only a tool to tell the stories I'm either looking for or finding. And I have never been able to produce properly without a story.
Thank you. Istanbul is a city that’s changing rapidly. I find a quite strange situation while walking around the city. Whenever I stop by Karaköy pier or Beşiktaş, they somehow become different each time. I guess most people feel this too. I searched for these shifting locations for Hurri Mitanni. Locations that are iconic for me and everyone but not too obvious as well. Or places that preserve their essence despite all these changes. I went out for 3 or 4 days and wandered around the city. Then I started producing with an experimental style, considering my feelings about those places and of course the spirit of the song. There are 5-6 more characters that we did not see in the video, but their fate was not to be seen. It is as if the current time of the city and theirs are different. Even if we exist at the same time, we cannot see each other. The screen, that is, the video, unites these two universes in a way. So it’s not a problem that a few characters remain unseen. As I said, it’s fate
Shaun Tan – The March
When I no longer have the power to open that project.
Avarya - Gökalp Gönen
I can only watch my movies a couple of years after creating them. The moment I have an idea, I instantly know what the movie would look like. But as this idea evolves and gets produced, I get detached from it. And I can never watch it when it’s completed. Because at that moment, I am watching the details, the sizzle in the voices. Somehow it gets done and the film goes on to festivals and everything calms down. And a couple of years later, I have to watch it again for some reason. That’s when I am deeply affected by it with a tremendous sense of alienation. It’s not about if the movie is good or bad. Every new plan appearing on the screen inflames a feeling of panic and happiness. All those feelings while making a movie turn into some sort of therapy. Ultimately, though, I feel fine. It's kind of like finding the strength to lean on something and move on.
Lâl - Gökalp Gönen
I guess as I consume and produce, and face the technical problems of each new production, I get updated slowly in the background without realizing it. Some updates like Windows updates appear at the last moment and removing them can hinder things, but so be it.
Skateboarding
Book: Arthur C. Clarke- Rama Series
Movie: Border- Ali Abbasi
Game: Fall Out Serisi
Tv Show: Foundation
Podcast: Philosophize This!
