Three Kisses
Director: Ellis Kaan
Turkey, 2024, 14 min
Shooting Format:Digital RAW
Festival Year:2025
Category:Narrative Short
Genres:Comedy, Drama, Family
Cast:Gül Eskihancılar, Orfeo Sinan Cetin, Mehmet Ali Gökçek, Pippa Russell, Rıdvan Pehlivan, Eppie Ozen.
Crew:Writer: Ellis Kaan Özen. Producers: Ayse Elif Özkan, Stephanie Furtun.
Email:elliskaanozen@gmail.com
Synopsis
When Ali comes back from America with love bites on his neck his mother, Gül, is terrified. This new found love will push their family through a change they might not be ready for: wedding bells. 'Three Kisses' portrays three intimate moments that reveal those left out of their love story.
Trailer
About the director
Born in 1996, Istanbul, Ellis Kaan Ozen is a Turkish-American writer and director. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and now resides in Istanbul, where he shot his most recent film 'Three Kisses'. His works orbit family and interpersonal relationships.
Filmmaker's note
I’ve always believed that family is the nest for experiences and stories that contain the most truth, with all their pain and joy. My Turkish grandmother told me that when my father went to study in America, she was so afraid of him falling in love, marrying an American girl and moving far far away from her that she sacrificed a lamb so he didn’t get married. Her wish didn’t come true, but that is exactly what the film is about; the crazy and beautiful things we do for the ones we love, the ones we see as family. It’s a love story that’s not about the people in love but those around them; the mother, the friend and how afraid they feel towards this new change in their lives. I wanted to create this feeling of a big world, with many places and many colorful characters who have their own separate lives but bring the focus all back to the small, surprising acts of loving that catch us off guard. The three kisses in the movie show that everything will always be okay.