Interviews

Interview: Numan Acar – The Suitcase (short)

Published on February 12, 2024

After more or less a solid decade of notable parts in multiple languages (most notably Fatih Akin’s 2017 In the Fade), seasoned German-Turkish actor Numan Acar (who will next be seen in Terrence Malick’s long-awaited The Way of the Wind) returns behind the camera to unpack some personal memories with The Suitcase (aka Waliz). Working with two distinct time frames, the short (which had its world premiere at the 2023 Red Sea Film Festival) looks at themes of displacement, powerlessness and identity, we are witness to all strands of violence on a people who unfortunately come to think of this object as vital to their survival and acts as a lifeline to their past, their family history and physical safety.

Set to make its journey on the festival circuit for 2024, in our conversation, I got to discuss the idea of working with two timelines, the creative use of flashbacks, the landscape utilized in the film and of course asked about his collaborations with Fatih Akin and Terrence Malick.

Eric Lavallée

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).