Discoveries from Turkey World Cinema

Quietly selfish, full of grandiose dreams, and fundamentally cold and insensitive toward those around him, Mert is an immature man in his early-30s who resides in a middle-class neighborhood in Istanbul. When he has to deal with his father's funeral preparations in a small town surrounded by tea plantations in the hills of northeastern Turkey, he finds himself trapped in the discrepancy between the world he has selfishly dreamed of and the world in which he actually lives. During the three days in the town, as he ignores every problem that he encounters, he can’t really help facing painful, tragic, and tragicomic experiences which lead him to go through inevitable moments of an instant and intense growing-up story while he discovers that the already existing cracks in his life are growing wider and deeper by the hour.

Real estate agent Savaş is well-liked, respected, and trusted by the people in his neighborhood. Savaş's brother Umar, however, became bedridden after suffering a seizure caused by an illness he contracted from an insect when he was a child. Having lost his parents, Savaş was forced to care for his bedridden brother for many years, and he blames Allah for this situation. For this reason, he sets out to take revenge on the devout people in his neighborhood and divert them from God's path. He first infiltrates their ranks and then begins to alter their perceptions. By the end of the film, it remains unclear which side will emerge victorious in this battle.

Hacı works away from her family. He couldn’t send money home because he didn’t get his salary, and he also doesn’t remember last time he ate. Hacı, who found 50 liras while cleaning rubble, doesn’ know what to do this money.

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.

Story of a child in no-man's land.

Father wants to find his childhood house with the help of his Son. Father is sick. Son is bored. House is distant. Is it really?

Şafakla Dönenler describes the difficulties experienced by all laborers through the eyes of Erdal and his 12-year-old son, Merdan, who work as a vegetable at night. Father and son go to work in the face of the brutality of the night and the harshness of the cold. They try to sell at the bottom of the dark wall with hand carts taking greenery from large shops. After getting some of the goods, the trolleys are stolen. On the one hand, they try to move and sell the goods on their backs, while on the one hand they search the carts. Will they be able to find their car when the night is over and at dawn?

In Istanbul's Hasanpaşa, Seko makes plans for a vacation with his friends, who are in pursuit of hitting the volley, and the young man of the townspeople. Their financially comfortable friends give Serkan a lucrative amount of money for the costs. However, Seko loses money by playing craps on the gambling mafia, which he owes instead of doing the organization. The young man who thinks for the holiday plan makes a new plan by remembering his late grandfather's saying "Most precious treasure". The group goes to Edirne Uzunköprü with the new plan of Seko for the holiday. The jumping youngsters of Istanbul will be thrown into an adventurous and funny adventure with the cheerful and sincere people of Trakya ...

“Pablito” is a documentary tracing the remarkable journey of Argentine footballer Pablo Martin Batalla, from the streets of Cordoba to legendary status in Bursa. More than just a playmaker, Batalla became the beating heart of Bursaspor during one of the club’s most iconic eras. Through heartfelt interviews and archival footage, the film explores his deep bond with the club, his influence on and off the pitch, and how a foreign player became a hometown hero.

Months after the previous events, Yiğit has been living in isolation. When strange occurrences begin happening in his home, he reluctantly reaches out to Görkem, whom he hasn’t seen in months. Together, they realize their only option is to return to the mysterious school.

Tolga, the son of a wealthy family, wants to escape his family's pressure. He leaves home and embarks on a boat trip without knowing where he is going. On the same boat, he meets Meral, who, like him, has set out on a journey without her family's consent. During the trip, Tolga and Meral get to know each other closely, and a love affair develops between them.

"Never My Soul" is a phrase taken from the cliché sentence the good-Turkish-girl character would say to her rapist in classic Turkish movies – "You can have my body but never my soul!" The film has at its center a transsexual who is pretending to be Turkan Soray, the real-life super diva of the Turkish Cinema, and her real life is similar to the melodramatic plot of a Turkan Soray movie. She was born as a boy, beaten up by her military father all throughout her childhood for exhibiting "effeminate" behavior, taken to psychiatrists at the age of thirteen to cure her sexual "deviance," then beaten up and tortured by an infamous Istanbul police chief. Now living in Lausanne, her kidneys have failed, she is on dialysis, and she has to live off of prostitution.

Immigration? Yes or no? In Search of a better life... Is there another way? Please wait...

Having fled the war in Syria, Hanna and her young brother Nader are living in a run-down neighbourhood of Istanbul. Hanna's dreams and identity clash when she meets Ibo.

The story of Mebrure, who came to Istanbul to search for her father, who went missing after the Greek occupation..

Traveling the streets of Ankara with his camera, İnce conducts short interviews with people about perspectives on homosexuality and the struggles for rights and freedoms, with the participation of people from different NGOs working on these themes.

A young couple drifts through an undefined, timeless space, he tries to gouge out his own eyes in despair; she smacks him on the head, breaking the intensity with unexpected humor. Affection and love remains, but in what form?

Documentary film tells the story of Tülütbaklar, a national hero of the Balıkesir region Turkey in its War of Independence.

GUERNICA by Ezgi Pamir brings Picasso’s famous anti-war picture to life. This animation displays the destruction of war.

A family of moles tries to save their motherland "Köstebekya". Are they going to be successful?

Young man eats an unusual breakfast which seems usual.

“It's a long and difficult struggle, but the road itself is really very flowery.” A story of struggle that starts alone and turns into the cause of the crowds. The "My Struggle" documentary tells the story of law student Arzu S. Topuz, who was sexually assaulted during her career as a trainee lawyer, and her struggle for justice against her boss.

An ex special agent is settled in a small village called "Ladik" for his retirement. One day in here he gets a call from his old partner. He is not safe here anymore. Now, he has to face his past and meet with his new enemies.

The Samatya Sahakyan Choir was founded in 1703 and is the oldest church choir in Turkey. This documentary follows the choir's preparation for their 2020 New Year's concert step by step starting from their first rehearsals. Along the way, the creative history and social role of what is a vital part of Armenian identity and culture is explored through the stories of the choir’s members and their ancestors.

Zuhal with Down Syndrome, is a fan of Türkiye’s famous TV series “The Valley of the Wolves”, and is in love with the character Polat Alemdar. Knowing this, her close friend Ozan decides to shoot her documentary. On the first day of the set, Ozan, who tries to wake Zuhal up, finds himself in Zuhal’s world. A journey begins from Zuhal’s communication with customers and colleagues at work, to the ties she has established with her family, from her frank demeanor to her desire to become a celebrity.

Marked: The victim tells the story of a young woman who experiences strange events after taking the cat she found at her door into her home. Icon is the only child of a wealthy family. Due to the indifference of his mother and father, who put pressure on him, Simge leaves home at an early age and leads a life away from her family. A successful vocalist, Simge performs in bars with her lover Burak and his band. While everything was going well in his life, Simge, who takes the cat she found at her door home one day, finds herself in a situation that is getting more and more terrifying from that moment on.

This documentary focuses on the experiences of children at a village primary school in the '90s under war conditions and the oppressive environment brought on by war and their longing for peace. Bûka Baranê, means The Bride of the Rain in Kurdish. It is the Kurdish phrase used for the rainbow. The documentary, begins with a photograph of primary school children taken in 1989 in the courtyard of their school in the village of Befircan or Karlı, to use its given Turkish name, in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari province.

The documentary Where Are You Going Bro?: The Exchange is about the human tragedy experienced before and after the 1924 Population Exchange. The film draws attention to the traumas which were created by the Exchange and whose effects still continue: Due to an article in the Treaty of Lausanne concerning population exchange hundreds of thousands of people were suddenly banished from their homes and settled in lands that were completely unknown to them without their consent.

In 2043, the migrant problem in Turkey and attempts to Arabize Turkey yield dire results. The secular, democratic and European Turkish identity is about to disappear.

Cem, Murat and Tarık have come to Bodrum for a vacation. While Murat and Tarık are having fun, Cem is complaining. Three young people meet Kerem and Haydar who owns a boat. The guys start traveling with Kerem and Haydar. A few days later, their friend Ahmet comes to Bodrum with his English girlfriend and older sister Emine. A rapprochement will begin between girls and guys.

Kezban and Yusuf are a couple in the village who love each other. Kezban's stepmother is also in love with Yusuf. She slanders Kezban.

When little Şaban turned seven, his only dream was to pray at the Şeyh Şaban-ı Veli Mosque in Kastamonu. Şaban's mother, Emine, had promised her husband on his deathbed that she would take their son to pray at Pir Hazretleri's mosque for the first time. However, they have no money for the journey. Moreover, after their father's death, they are struggling with seizures and creditors. Their neighbors give them a cow on trust to help them make ends meet. They plan to save up for the journey by selling the cow's milk and go to Kastamonu for the first prayer. Collecting the funds does not seem easy. Someone suggests to Emine that if she dilutes the milk with water before selling it, they will achieve their goal more easily. Emine’s heart begins to ache. Faced with the danger of not being able to fulfill her son’s noble intention, she reluctantly begins to dilute the milk. In this way, they manage to save the necessary amount in a short time.

a student who forced to pray for allah