Take Me and Use Me! – Portrait of an Actor: Necdet Mahfi Ayral
The Collector
This documentary focuses on Necdet Mahfi Ayral (1908-2004), one of the most colorful personalities in the Turkish theatre and cinema. All the highlights of his rich life are featured, including his entrance into the Istanbul Municipal Theatre, his film and theatre adventures with Muhsin Ertugrul, and his dubbing of the films of the famous Italian comedian Toto. The film features moving interviews with his daughter Jeyan Mahfi Tözüm, actors Ferhan Sensoy, Sener Sen, and Kayhan Yildizoglu and director Yavuz Turgul, who express their sincere feelings about the master artist.
In this documentary about a passionate collector, director Pelin Esmer presents a man who has been collecting for seventy years, accumulating everything one can imagine. This unusual character lives in his house like a guest of his collections, as if time has stopped. As this passionate man searches through the streets of Istanbul for new items to collect, Esmer tries to understand his subject’s idiosyncratic perception of life. The film was awarded the Best Documentary Award in the 2004 Rome Independent Film Festival and Third Prize in the Ankara Film Festival’s Documentary Competition.