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THE ANNOUNCEMENT
May 22, 1963: Unhappy with the social and political situation in Turkey, a group of military officers has planned a coup d’état to take down the government in Ankara. Meanwhile in Istanbul, their conspirators have undertaken the vital mission of taking over the national radio station and making a formal announcement about the coup. But nothing goes according to plan. Faced with a number of obstacles, including a sudden rainstorm, the absence of the radio station technician, a betrayal, the lack of feedback from Ankara and their very own inefficiency, the conspirators scramble to keep their plan on track and announce the success of the coup — that is, if the coup in the capital has taken place at all. Based on actual events and told over the course of a single night, THE ANNOUNCEMENT is a wry commentary on Turkey’s uneasy political past — and present. Biting political satire meets subtle comedy in a film that highlights the absurdity of its story without ever being anything less than dead serious.
Meet the director
Mahmut Fazil Coşkun
Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun was born in Turkey in 1973. He studied film directing at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as well as at Bilgi University in Istanbul. He initially made documentary and image films. His first feature film, WRONG ROSARY (2009), received several national and international awards, including the award for best director at the Istanbul Film Festival. His second feature film, YOZGAT BLUES, completed in 2013, celebrated its premiere at the film festival in San Sebastian and received the FIPRESCI Award at the International Film Festival in Warsaw. THE ANNOUNCEMENT (2018) is his third feature film.