'That Good Night' by Solution Film

(Turkey) First Edit

Directed and produced by Stare Yildirim in a fine crazy day in Istanbul on Canon 7D by cinematographer Olcay Oguz. It's a very low almost no budget film. Except the actress in the role of the daughter (Ece Ozdikici) and the couple in the flashbacks, none of the actors are professional. The actor in the role of Frank didn't know a word of English and he is the neighbor of the director who has no acting experience other than a few gigs as a background artist. The actress in the role of nurse is a businesswoman who has never acted before.

Read 'That Good Night' HERE

First Cut Comments... have YOUR say!

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Comments: 76
  • #1

    Kathy Van Hoozen (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 13:34)

    Very touching and moving~

  • #2

    Chuck Perry (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 13:49)

    Amazing how well the actors played the little nuances I remember reading in the screen plan.

  • #3

    Kathy Oliver (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 14:12)

    What a beautiful story, wonderfully written and so exciting to see it on film.

  • #4

    Eileen Brewster (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 14:29)

    How lovely! So much is said with so few words. The story is wonderful and very universal. So touching!

  • #5

    Michael Gibrall (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 15:10)

    Incredibly well written, acted, and beautifully shot. Bravo!

  • #6

    Pamala (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 15:43)

    THAT GOOD NIGHT shines with talent! The writer has so much heart and all followed that heart to create a very moving work!

  • #7

    Neil Chase (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 16:35)

    Wonderful short! Great performances, beautiful cinematography and such a moving story.

  • #8

    Michelle Muldoon (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 17:02)

    A beautiful build-up to a very touching end. Lovely.

  • #9

    Angus Kootenhayoo (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 17:21)

    The transitions of time and space was beautiful. I so want to skip work and go film something now :)

  • #10

    Gayla Betts (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 17:22)

    This is beautiful!

  • #11

    Dawn (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 17:24)

    Wonderful story and well shot. Fantastic job for a first cut, I couldn't fault it... :)

  • #12

    Melva McLean (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 17:37)

    Well written and beautifully shot. And it made me cry.

  • #13

    Eric Canton (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 18:24)

    Tightly written and poignant. Emotions portrayed in ways we will remember. A distinguished work!

  • #14

    Linda Sivy (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 18:29)

    Each day could bring a surprise.. Loved it!

  • #15

    Viki Posidis (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 19:07)

    Beautifully shot. Great production value. Music is moving. Great story and nicely acted. Very well done. I was moved immensely.

  • #16

    Marla Hayes (Tuesday, 04 December 2012 19:57)

    Such old world charm brought to a universal family theme complimented by the right touch of subtle acting and glorious cinematography. Truly brings the deft script to life! Thank you!

  • #17

    Lexi (Wednesday, 05 December 2012 02:04)

    It made me cry! Really beautiful.

  • #18

    Staré Yildirim (Wednesday, 05 December 2012 09:19)

    Thank you so much for all these beautiful comments. I was very depressed before i posted the video here thinking I didn't do a good job..this is my second film, my first film was a different genre (thriller, mystery, fantasy) which is totally different than this film and I wasn't sure if I will be able to do it...(especially considering the limitations, i even had to copy and paste the music beat by beat)..I'm thankful to the cast and crew team, my producers and of course the writer Kenneth Lemm who has supported me from the beginning. There had been some comments about getting rid of the middle part with the nurse..would love to learn your comments on it.

  • #19

    Atalay doğan (Wednesday, 05 December 2012 13:54)

    Canım arkadaşım stare,cim seyrettim ve bence çok başarılı buldum. Ne yalan söyleyim başta bu kadar kısa sürede stare bu filmi nasıl montaj,layıp gönderecek dedim.pratik zekanı unuttum şekerim özür dilerim ;)) bide bunu zaman lı bi dilime yayarsan çook daha farklı projeler ortaya çıkacak.. danışmak istersen ben burdayım ;)) şaka bi yana bu kadar kısa sürede ve bu kadar zamansız bi zamanda bu işi yapmak kolay değil.geçişler çok iyi ve çok daha iyi şeyler çıkacağın düşünüyorum.. seni seviyoreee :)))

  • #20

    Alec Michaelides (Wednesday, 05 December 2012 14:38)


    It,s amazing how much can be said with so little dialog. The music was powerful . I tear up every time I see it .

  • #21

    Stephen Pararo (Wednesday, 05 December 2012 15:28)

    An absolutely beautiful film. Thank you.

  • #22

    Derrick Meek (Wednesday, 05 December 2012 19:02)

    An amazing portrayal of our journey through life...captures the very essence of the human experience. Deeply touching.

  • #23

    Dolores Byrd (Wednesday, 05 December 2012 20:17)

    I felt instant emotion. The story is so powerful and real.

  • #24

    Vlastimir Stevanovic (Wednesday, 05 December 2012 21:06)

    I loved your film! I absolutely loved it! You are such a talent.
    The cinematography is flawless, the execution beautiful, actors are insanely likeable! You know your stuff and you are born for this.

    Turkish are so full of surprises and you're so talented!
    I go to Istanbul very frequently, fascinating town, fascinating people!

  • #25

    bir dost (Wednesday, 05 December 2012 22:32)

    gerçekten tebrik ediyorum. ellerine sağlık sitarecim. çok başarılı buldum. gözlerim doldu... tebrik ederim başarılarının devamını dilerim...

  • #26

    elvan (the nurse) (Wednesday, 05 December 2012 23:08)

    It is such an honor to be part of this movie, I believe this will be just the begining of worldwide sucsess of the director. Great cinematography, the choice of colors and editing. I was the witness of the imposibilities the director got over so sucsessfully that none of them are reflected to the screen when we are watching it. congratulations.

  • #27

    Anil Rao (Thursday, 06 December 2012 03:46)

    Great work Staré, loved all the flashback stuff, the structure of this part is beautiful. Yes if you wanted to shorten this you could get rid of the nurse part, but it doesn't slow it down or anything.

    My only concern is the music at the end is too over the top, you had already achieved in my book the right emotional sentimentality by being delicate with all aspects ,all the way through up to this point. This and a few issues with sound stopping and starting are the only points that otherwise is a really touching and well made film.

    Congratulations.

  • #28

    Tacettin SAGLAR (Thursday, 06 December 2012 11:40)

    Congradulations,such a nice short movie I have ever seen in last few years. Subject is simple but touching. Light,colour,music & editing is so succesful.
    Elvan, you should have started this job much more earlier, I think!
    Hope to see, longer version of this product in the movie market.

  • #29

    Staré (Thursday, 06 December 2012 12:51)

    First of all, thank you for all the comments, you cant imagine what it means for the team of this film and how happy it makes us and especially me. I have been working as a producer until last year but after being disrespected and decieved by so many directors that i helped find their style, bring their projects to life (despite their lack of writing abilities, storytelling abilities, lack of esthetich approach combined with a huge ego) i decided direct. I dont care if im the writer, director or the producer as long as i make sure the story is told in a mutual language. This is my second film so i was not sure if i did something good or bad, i was very scared to show it... And actually i was getting ready to hear really bad comments...so imagine what it means to me to hear these comments. Maybe i made a good decision by saying that i will direct. I appreciate your time spent watching our film and writing here your beautiful and inspiring comments. Thank you all on behalf of our team and myself.

    Im sorry for the Turkish comments :) I didnt share this in my social network since i want to see the comments from total strangers. However cast and crew saw it and i didnt think they would write anything so i didnt warn them about language. Atalay is our hair dresser of the film who was there until the last minute although his job was done way earlier. He witnessed all the miracles. Allow me to translate: to sum it up he says " im surprised to see this film done since i honestly didnt think this can be a finished film but i underestimated you stare, this is an amazing film and i want to see what u can do if u r given more time to make a film" (obviously he is talking about a proper production). I dont know the other person who made the second turkish comment. He named himself "a friend" he says he/she has beeen touched by the film deeply and he/she had tears in eyes..

    I see 2 filmmakers commenting here, Anil and Vlastimir. They are in my list of best directors in this competition. Please watch their beautiful films. Vlastimir, as you know your film is my favorite among the "first/last" screenplays so im so happy to hear these beautiful comments from good filmmaker like you :) thank you. Please let me know if u come to istanbul. Maybe we meet in UK? :)

    And Anil Rao, among all films made from screenplay "Neil", I got stuck between yours and the one made by Just films. I kept watching both of them, showed both of them to people. So hard to decide. They are 2 different versions and both beautiful. You took a hard road and prefered to use a very modern and unique storytelling to describe the story of Neil. Very brave..would love to talk to you about how u filmed it, why u picked this road and the editing phase..As you can see my storytelling is more classical and mainstream,( or maybe not) so it's such a surprise and honor to see that you like my storytelling..:) yes i totally agree with you about the music at the end, i would prefer to use a part of the first song that i used in the film, but there wasnt any compatible part.. And i didnt have a composer. Hurts!! And yes completely agree about the sound as well. After the sound design i wasnt happy with a few things and didnt have another day with the sound designer, so i changed things in final cut and the sound mix got ruined :( it's all my mistake not the sound designer's. but i dont regret it bec those changes made a huge difference in a few scenes. Im hoping to take care of them when i get some time from the sound designer...and maybe if the film is picked i can talk to a composer to make the music better.

  • #30

    Staré (Thursday, 06 December 2012 12:53)

    Sorry for the lenght.. I couldnt write just a "thank you..." in repy to these beautiful encouraging words everybody wrote.

  • #31

    Amy Stryker (Thursday, 06 December 2012 13:50)

    Lovely film. The opening sequences flowed beautifully. Wonderful writing expressing so much in a short period of time. Loved it.

  • #32

    Rob Burke (Thursday, 06 December 2012 22:30)

    Nice work Stare. Really appreciated your vision - look forward to seeing what you create in the future - definitely one of the filmmakers on here that I'd love to see work with a future script of mine.

    Cheers,

    Rob

  • #33

    Ather Ch (Thursday, 06 December 2012 23:56)

    We know its not easy transforming script into visuals, important thing for writer is you write you see it happening on screen, for director you tell story with images, most important thing is you have done it! I wouldn't comment on little details because you writer and director knows where things didn't work? And we all learn from it! I wish you both writer and director best of luck for your next project ! Keep Surprise the world

  • #34

    Kim Aschmeyer (Friday, 07 December 2012 04:44)

    Really enjoyed watching this, beautifully written & shot. So much emotion conveyed with the flashbacks. Nice job all!

  • #35

    Ays (Friday, 07 December 2012 16:55)

    ıts a amazing film..baby is so cute :)

  • #36

    Aytac (Saturday, 08 December 2012 01:12)

    Very good short movie. All the characters from the beginning until the end including the baby is amazingly touching.

  • #37

    GT (Saturday, 08 December 2012 18:58)

    Nice and touching film, delicate touch. Especially liked the opening montage inspired from Disney's 2009 film, Up. That montage of Carl and his wife Ellie aging together was widely lauded. The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Good luck to all involved!

  • #38

    Charles (Sunday, 09 December 2012 00:13)

    One of the best films on here. A poetic film with good pacing with a soft underlying score. Good build up with subtle acting and especially a very touching end portrayed very well by the actress. Some sound issues and occasional erratic editing but a minor issue. It's a bit presumptuous to speak on the directors behalf (did the director say she/he is inspired by this film?) and insinuate that it was inspired by another film. I don't necessarily think it was inspired by the mentioned movie "UP" just because it has an aging couple and a montage. The montage in the movie "Up" is a regular montage that you can find in any film, unlike the montage here which is pretty unique and imaginative. Congrats to you and your crew. Would love to see more films from you.

  • #39

    Türkay Tasasız (Monday, 10 December 2012 12:10)

    Çok güzel bir film fragramı, emeği geçen herkese teşekkürler. Ayrıca Türklerin filmde bir tuzu olması beni gururlandırdı.

  • #40

    Beren (Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:43)

    İts a lovely short film..Baby is very sweet..

  • #41

    Woody (Wednesday, 19 December 2012 01:31)

    Loved it.. wanted the story to continue.. I think that is what a short film should do..

  • #42

    Mary (Wednesday, 19 December 2012 03:44)

    Oh! Very special ! Life..so well written !

  • #43

    Bill (Wednesday, 19 December 2012 17:10)

    A moving and powerful ride of emotions in such a short time.

  • #44

    Bill Baker (Monday, 24 December 2012 22:45)

    We need more stories about family reconciliation like this! It touches on a theme that is universal.

  • #45

    Melissa (Tuesday, 01 January 2013 23:24)

    It was beautiful and touching. What a fantastic writer. To be able to deliver so much emotion and remind you how one moment of love, one act of selfless kindness can bring someone back from the edge. Forgiveness can sometimes save us from ourselves. Well done! I want more!

  • #46

    Ken Lemm (Thursday, 10 January 2013 21:50)

    I am still dazed by the experience afforded by the 50 Kisses competition. I stumbled across the competition quite by accident, and immediately envisioned the story I would set out to tell. It was one of those moments when later asked ‘where did you get your idea?’ you realize you don’t know yourself. The story came together quickly and passionately, and I was thrilled when the announcement of the fifty winning scripts included “That Good Night.”
    This promised to be the first script I’d written thus far to be filmed!



    That’s when the heartburn began. One by one, as I watched filmmakers line up to announce the films they would be making, “That Good Night” remained unselected. My thrill turned quickly to doubt. Was my story too long? Too ambitious? Too dramatic? Too expensive?



    Just as resignation was about to overtake hope, Gail Hackston put me in touch with Turkish director/producer Stare Yildirim. Stare had a captivating vision for the film she would make from my script. Over the long distance between us, and challenging time zone differences, Stare and I worked together on a rewritten script that fused her cinematic vision with the story I hoped to tell. Her ideas were inspiring, and brought the characters to life for me in a way I never imagined.



    The morning I awoke to find an eMail with a link to the initial rough cut version of the film was an experience I hope to remember for a very long time.



    Being able to share the completed film with friends, family and peers is a reward itself. I am very appreciative to Chris, Gail, and the 50 Kisses team for giving me this opportunity, and wish them luck in the daunting task of pulling the final film together.

  • #47

    John Morris (Monday, 28 January 2013 02:29)

    Instant emotional connection and very powerful. great message of what is really important in life.

  • #48

    Stare Yildirim (Wednesday, 30 January 2013 18:38)

    I hope we can make more films that will give people, hope, happiness and motivation in life. That was my goal when i decided to be a filmmaker. Thank you for taking the time putting here your precious comments.

  • #49

    Anahid Sinanian Rosa (Sunday, 27 October 2013 14:02)

    I loved it. Very emotional, well written & acted. Made me cry.

  • #50

    Todd Niemi (Sunday, 27 October 2013 14:08)

    Excellent all around: great writing, directing and acting. A marvelous example of powerful economy.

  • #51

    Tina Lowery (Sunday, 27 October 2013 14:12)

    What a touching story!! wonderful job and made me cry!! Amazing for such a short film to feel like you just watched his whole life.

  • #52

    Sherri carlson (Sunday, 27 October 2013 15:38)

    Sweet story

  • #53

    Norma Tillman (Sunday, 27 October 2013 16:09)

    This film is a great team effort with a message about memories, love, forgiveness, and caring.

  • #54

    Tammy Tamayo (Sunday, 27 October 2013 16:24)

    Beautiful, brought tears to my end, very touching!

  • #55

    Claire V. Riley (Sunday, 27 October 2013 17:08)

    What a beautiful film! A great story about the power of love. Also, it shows that dialogue is not the most important aspect of a film. This film had very little dialogue yet I clearly understood the story and was very moved. I loved it!

  • #56

    Terri Minton (Sunday, 27 October 2013 18:25)

    My favorite writer, Ken Lemm, has such a gift to tell a story in a way that immerses me right there in it. "That Good Night" is a beautiful and emotional journey to be experienced through the words of Ken, the vision of the director and the portrayals by the actors. Well done all around!

  • #57

    Carrie Brooks (Sunday, 27 October 2013 19:15)

    Ken,
    That was a wonderful touching story. I love your projects!

  • #58

    Robert M. Hensel (Sunday, 27 October 2013 19:47)

    beautifully-written. :-)

  • #59

    Amy Stryker (Sunday, 27 October 2013 21:52)

    so beautiful...

  • #60

    Natalie Labine (Sunday, 27 October 2013 23:03)

    Loved it! Well done!

  • #61

    Joey Bullmore (Sunday, 27 October 2013 23:49)

    Incredibly well written!!! An absolutely beautiful film! I cried!! An instant emotional connection! "That Good Night" is a powerful reminder of what's truly important in life. I loved it!

  • #62

    Ja'mie Gilbert (Monday, 28 October 2013 02:19)

    This is simply eloquent, aptly cast with near poetic subtlety that leaves you emotionally affected. Great job Stare and Ken.

  • #63

    Pat Payne (Monday, 28 October 2013 20:47)

    Ken Lemm, you are one Awesome writer! I love your works! Wow, the actors have more heart than a lot of professionals. I love the real and naturalism of this film. Awesome message! Just amazing!

  • #64

    Kathy Oliver (Tuesday, 29 October 2013 15:50)

    Beautiful, moving, touching. Wonderfully written.

  • #65

    Meltem Fakabasmaz (Monday, 09 December 2013 21:55)

    so natural, so touching. Although working with non prof actors, director did a great work. You feel all the emotions. Congrats!!

  • #66

    Emre Karabeğ (Friday, 13 December 2013 15:24)

    Stare güzel bir kısa film olmuş ellerine sağlık. Başarılarının devamı için şimdiden Allah kolaylık versin.

  • #67

    Tracy Wright (Wednesday, 08 January 2014 15:16)

    Very touching and well done. I loved it.

  • #68

    Darrell Milstead (Wednesday, 08 January 2014 17:34)

    Very well done and very moving.

  • #69

    Shana Kelley (Wednesday, 08 January 2014 20:44)

    What a beautiful story of love and forgiveness.

  • #70

    Dimity Telfer (Saturday, 11 January 2014 16:04)

    Wow! Very touching.

  • #71

    Shari K. Green (Wednesday, 15 January 2014 18:43)

    Beautifully shot. This is impressive and the music stirring. The music was so well chosen and kept the story moving along exquisitely. Good job.

  • #72

    Stare (Friday, 17 January 2014 19:10)

    Hello everyone :) we are very happy to be able to watch our film in the big screen. @shari k. green, the music until the last scene belongs to a song from a Greek Composer Theo Abazis. I had to cut beats from this song and paste in final cut pro..because I couldn't afford hiring a composer..and the ones who were willing to help were not giving me what I had in mind. The last music was from stock music. Music is very important because I live my everyday with a melody in mind..everybody sings their own melody :) what matters is "how does our melody sound?", in this film we are loving and hopeful about future. Wishing you the same for everyone. Excited to see the future comments :)

  • #73

    Martin Leffler (Thursday, 13 February 2014 15:52)

    Hi,

    I really like the music and the story is also nice.
    And although, as you say, working with non-professional actors they made a nice job.
    Ok, some critics has to be. I actually don't like the colorcorrection.
    To brown and desaturated. Such a film must have nice colors inside.

  • #74

    Cesar Badell (Tuesday, 28 October 2014 12:21)

    Touching and delicate. Original idea of seeking forgiveness !

  • #75

    Cesur S. (Friday, 27 February 2015 00:03)

    Beautiful story, natural acting and great music all combined together. Congratulations, love it.

  • #76

    Seval (Monday, 20 April 2015 16:18)

    its amazing short film, beautiful story, i love it. littel kids so cute