Discoveries from Turkey World Cinema

Hıdır, who earns his living as a truck driver, meets Cemile by chance. Cemile is the daughter of a wealthy family from Diyarbakır. The friendship that begins between them quickly turns into love. However, it is impossible for them to be together because Cemile is engaged to someone else.

A night watchman with dark circles under his eyes from a lack of sleep faces the danger of being fired from his irregular job. Desperate to get his hands on the red prescription drug in order to set everything right, he obsessively tries every possible way. Events surrounded by tension trap him in a blissful state between fantasy and reality.

Turkish comedy.

Dr. Savaş Arslan directs a documentary portraying the story of Sigmund Weinberg, who was one of the pioneers of the history of cinema in Turkey. Illustrating the social life of Istanbul at the turn of the 20th century, the documentary follows the technological developments of the period from the camera to the gramophone, and from cinema to automobiles, as it traces Weinerg’s family members who have been scattered across five different continents, and portrays the opening of Istanbul’s first cinema theater in 1908. A Sigmund Weinberg Docu-commentary provides an in-depth study of Sigmund Weinberg, the official photographer, film producer and director of both Sultan Abdülhamid II and Sultan Mehmed V Reşad, a century ago during a period of constant transformations. Using a witty language, the filmincludes interviews with film historians Burçak Evren and Giovanni Scognamillo, while comparing and contrasting shadow play and cinema through the examples of Karagöz and Weinberg.

A kind-hearted local tough, haunted by his reputation, struggles to reconcile his violent past with his desire to protect the vulnerable in his community.

Kenan, who lost his mother at birth, witnessed his father's murder by strangers when he was ten years old. Left alone in the whirlpool of life after being thrown onto the streets by his orphanhood, he continued his life with two friends he met during his childhood, who would never leave him alone. Having spent his childhood on the streets, Kenan continues his life with two friends he met during the same period, who will never leave him alone. When he reaches his teenage years, an old family friend who reaches out to him will completely change the fate of Kenan and his friends. Finding himself in a ruthless and corrupt world, Kenan will strive to find his way out of this dark life and into the light.

The story of Binnaz, one of the famous beauties of the Tulip Age, and the men in love with her.

Whispering Walls is a creative, cinematic, and artistic meditation on a Turkish artist in New York in the 1960s as he is trying to navigate his way in an intricate time in American history when people were out on the streets for civil rights and when art was a true act of struggle expressing itself in the most intense way on street walls. Set against the backdrop of whispering walls of the world, the artist’s monumental photographic archive of urban walls in 114 countries which chronicles the winds of societal change from the 1960s to the 2000s, the film exposes dazzling works of Doğançay’s lifetime ouvre, some of them released for the first time in this documentary, some of them defined as masterpieces as world’s greatest artistic monuments like Metropolitan Museum of Art and question why they are still relevant today.

Ayaz is an ordinary man who wishes for his own home. His brother-in-law left Iran for a long time due to his anti-government activities, but the news of his possible return reaches Ayaz. Concerned that he might have to leave home if his brother-in-law returns, Ayaz tells a small lie—that the secret police have searched their home. Ayaz’s lie becomes an excuse for the real secret police to track down his brother-in-law, and Ayaz finds himself in a situation where he is forced to report his neighbors and family.

A man fights alone against the slum landlords.

The film is about a young woman's experiences in parallel universes and her struggle to return to the real world after getting stuck between them.

Are we alone in the universe? This question has been preoccupying humanity for decades. Today, people don’t believe in extraterrestrial life. But there are witnesses from different countries, having interesting experiences. This documentary focuses on stories of a group of people from Turkey who had those kind of experiences.

Hüseyin, a family man, is forced to share a bed with his brother-in-law Firat, who happens to be staying overnight in their apartment. The weather is unbearably hot and Hüseyin's "longest night" begins.

We can hide or ignore the truth in some way. However, when it finds a way to come out, it may be too late for everything.

This documentary describes one of the greatest monuments in the history of world architecture, the historical, cultural and political past of a magnificent building whose history stretches right back to the 4th century.

A comedy about a father who wants to marry his daughter off to a business partner, and a mother who opposes the marriage.

Three shepherd friends who were born and raised in Van lose their flock one day due to bad luck. While wandering around looking for a new job, they come up with the idea of making a fake monster model on the shore of Lake Van and making money from it. Soon, rumors spread that there was a monster in the lake, and journalist teams from Istanbul came to the city. The three friends fell in love with the female journalists in the team and got themselves into some funny situations.

The story of a man who falls into depression after his wife's death and protects a woman he has just met from bad guys.

Comedy oriented Turkish version of Snow White with a few ideas from Cinderella.

Prof. Gazi Yaşargil is precisely such a person. He is a scientist who strove relentlessly to reach his goal and paid the price. This is the story of Yaşargil's extraordinary, inspiring, passionate life journey, which knows no obstacles or limits, and the understanding of truth he attained.

Morales, who believes himself to be God's representative on earth, is a harbinger not of what he has done, but of what he will do. In a story that spans from the interrogation room to the wedding hall, who will win the battle for justice between Morales and the human beings?

Elif is going abroad for her master’s degree and her friends throw a surprise farewell party for her. Unexpected tensions arise at the party and Elif starts seeing demons that are only visible to her. She is all alone with her demons in the crowd.

In 1965,a two-month-old leader,the commander of the Western Front, knocked down the big plane tree in a shake. One was 40, the other 80. In the last 5 years, it wasnt even possible to think of a government without İnönü in the country,but things were changing.Actually, Demirel was supposed to take the task, but the AP leader did not want it. It's good for the prime minister. He was inexperienced. A moderate name was found for this eight-month temporary period: Suat Hayri Ürgüplü, one of the former ministers of İnönü, and the new EP Senator. Demirel also sat on the chair of the deputy prime minister. For the first time in his life, he entered the General Assembly Hall of the Assembly during this period. Although he was not a deputy, he settled at the forefront of the Cabinet of Ministers, met with the government, and reconciled with the circles that were said to never give power to the EP. At the end of eight months, when the elections were at the door, the squares were waiting for him

A love story with a happy ending...

Ahmet Celal, who was injured during the war, is in great pain and a young woman named Emine helps him and saves him and heals him. A stormy love breaks out in those scenes and the intrigued life of that love is worked out.

The Waves focuses a boy named Emrah's one day on the shores of the Bosphorus.

Talip and Yaşar constantly waste the money they get from their older brother Muhteşem on unnecessary things. Çiğdem, a costume designer who was fired from the film set where she worked, introduces herself to Yaşar as a director and convinces her two friends that there is a lot of money to be made in the horror film industry. They use the last of the money they got from their brother Muhteşem to get into the horror film business. However, there are paranormal events waiting for them at the location where they are filming. Their dream of becoming rich by making a horror film turns into a nightmare for the duo, leading them into some very comical situations.

Elif and her sisters Funda and Aysun have spent much of their adult life coming to terms with a traumatic childhood in which their parents were killed during a bus accident that left the siblings terrified but physically unhurt. In time Funda and Aysun became mentally ill, and it fell to Elif to care for them, but eventually the burden became more than Elif and her husband could bear, and they deserted the siblings, leaving them to an unknown fate. Living in a country with no social safety net, Funda and Aysun fall prey to violence and exploitation, and their reunion with Elif and Yasemin is both poignant and troubling. Yasam Arsizi (aka Sidewalk Sisters) was an official selection at the 2008 Istanbul Film Festival.

Mert, a 30-year-old male, is employed at an abandoned-looking amusement park, grappling with an internal duality, while sensing a lurking identity bent on undermining him. Throughout the film, Mert interacts with various people and creatures, struggling to understand what's going wrong with his mental health. Despite his persistent pursuit of answers, Mert confronts a daunting struggle to delve into the depths of his psyche, hindered by a hesitancy to fully confront the mysteries within.

Plot TBA; a piece on contemporary alienation inspired by the 1974 cult French film The Man Who Sleeps.

Babil-i Jinn tells the story of a woman who had nightmares when she was haunted by demons. Ela is haunted by jinn when she is still a child. Ela, who sees an old woman in her dreams, tells that the woman wanted to marry her son and invited him to an old church. The teacher, who saves Ela from her nightmare, tells her that she should never marry. But when Ela turns 26 and gets engaged, the nightmarish days begin again.

A father and his son become the hunted ones in a hunt because of their rifles.

"8 Poems of Emigration" is a found footage film that focuses on the migration crisis. The film, while focusing on the immigration and immigration issue caused by the wild global capitalism, consists of the images and the found footage from the recording of the work named "8 Poetry of Immigration" that John Berger read to the audience in 2007 at the Fine Arts Center in Madrid. The narrative of the movie is revealed by the conflict between image and sound order. With the out-of-context (misuse) use of commercial images and music, the film creates a critical structure that opposes capitalism.

Yengeç Oyunu (Crab Play) tells the story of women from a small city, trying to survive. Asya (Ayça İnci) who is a History assistant professor at Istanbul University moves to a town taking her 5-year old daughter İpek, hoping to build a new life. in a little while Asya finds a job at the University and finds herself in an unusual project along her students. A project that will change their life. While investigating old Ottoman documents, they discover a murder case which grabs their attention. At the time seen as an honor killing the suspect has been acquitted. While Asya and her students investigate and find various aspects of this murder, they fight with their own demons as well as those of Turkish society.

Cingöz Recai, recently released from prison, plans a new robbery. Together with his men, he robs the house of merchant Selim Bey. Upon learning of the robbery, Commissioner Mehmet Rıza goes after Recai. During the robbery, Recai takes a liking to Selim Bey's stepdaughter, Selma. He notices there is a problem between Selma and her father. He follows Selma and sees that she is in trouble. While trying to protect Selma from the men chasing her, he learns a secret code that Selma knows. Recai, who is fleeing the police, will also try to decipher the code.

Gökçe (30), who is fed up with Turkey's political and social life, has recently moved to Berlin as a computer engineer. After staying in temporary accommodation for a while, she finds a place where she can settle for a longer period, but the real estate agency asks for a guarantor. Thinking she can get support from her close friends who also moved to Berlin, Gökçe is mistaken as none of them agree to help. After a long and eventful day, her thoughts about herself, her life in Berlin, and her future start to change.

A young man is about to leave Bosnia for Luxembourg in search for a better life there, and says goodbye to the city he grew up in.

Another reflection of Söylemez's unique relationship with Istanbul, the film successfully captures the rhythm, rituals and unique atmosphere of Istanbul through the inhabitants of the apartment buildings in a unique urban passageway.