Short Description of The Project
Tavuri considers the themes of crime, crime addiction, society and freedom through the personality of Mustafa Serttaş, a.k.a. the Devil (Tavuri), a Turkish Cypriot who spent half his life behind bars for theft and fraud.
Storyline
Crime considers the themes of crime, crime addiction, society and freedom through the personality of Mustafa Serttaş, a.k.a. the Devil (Tavuri) who spent half his life behind bars for theft and fraud. Mustafa Serttaş, a primary school dropout raised in a poor, broken home in Cyprus, began stealing as a child. He later developed this early experience into a lifestyle or, as he put it, an ‘obsession’. Director, Dervis Zaim knew Mustafa Serttaş from the age of eight. The director managed to film the last five years of his life, right up until his death. Some of the filming was carried out during Serttaş’ time in jail. At the beginning of the film director visits his old friend in the jail and we realize that he has questions in his mind: After last release from prison, can Tavuri manage to create a new life or would he choose to suicide in slow pace? Is there still a chance for him to have compassion even if he may be the biggest ‘con artist’ of the country?
About The Project
Mustafa Serttaş, a primary school dropout raised in a poor, broken home in Northern Cyprus, began stealing as a child. He later developed this early experience into a lifestyle or, as he put it, an ‘obsession’. He spent a good half of his life behind bars in Lefkoşa’s Central Prison. He is well-known for never having used violence during his career as a thief. Married and divorced three times, he had one daughter. When he wasn’t in jail, he led an extravagant life of luxury, but was also generous with his money. He was diagnosed by psychologists with personality disorder.
He scammed Lefkoşa’s Central Prison at two different times. The extraordinary thing was that on both occasions he was an inmate at the time. This probably makes him the only prisoner to rob the jail from the inside during two different prison terms.
Serttaş died in 2019.
Director, Dervis Zaim knew Mustafa Serttaş from the age of eight. The director managed to film the last five years of his life, right up until his death. Some of the filming was carried out during Serttaş’ time in jail.
Thanks:
Lefkoşa Merkezi Cezaevi Yönetimi ve Çalışanları
Metin Bilmen
Derviş Çebiç
Sevil Hançerli
Emre Oskay
Alim Arlı
Branimir Mladenov
Zeki Sarıbekir
Dimitris Yatzuzakis
Elias Demetriou
Aylin Zoi Tinel
Lefkoşa Yüksek Mahkemesi
Mehmet Arabi
Hasan Zaimağaoğlu
Şirin Zaimağaoğlu
Nurten Kara
Mağusa Devlet Hastanesi
Lefkoşa Devlet Hastanesi
Hilmi Kansu
DAÜ Hukuk Fakültesi
Adem Sözüer
Bengi Semerci
Üstün Barışta
Kıvan Aslı Odabaşı
Sema Şahin
Volkan Duran
Asbank
Işık Kitabevi
Saray Otel
Minder restoran
Mağusa Belediyesi
Mete Hatay
Hilmi Kansu
Gülperi Doğaner
Pembe Külah
Arkın Özsüner
Mehmet Ali Kanat
Sıla Sayın
Sabri Kuşkonmaz
Eleni Kaleorgeropoulou
Zekiye Onbaşı
Alp Ege Zaimağaoğlu
Hasan Cumaoğulları
Halide Dalokay
Yıldıray Dalokay
Mehmet Devecioğlu
Salahi Şah
Gürcan Koçan
Yavuz Erten
Serap Coşkun
Mevlut Akkaya
Andreas Sinanos
Gökçe Avukatlık Ortaklığı
Burhan Gün
Zihni Bilgehan
Marathon Film 2023
Contact: [email protected]
