Discoveries from Turkey World Cinema

A young man who stood against his family to live with his boyfriend. Suddenly he finds himself in a life that he certainly doesn’t want.

KEN MEKEN, which means "Once upon a time", is the preface to the storytelling of the Arabs living in Anatolia.

The film is about a king and queen who have been under a spell for a thousand years, and the lifting of this spell.

Turkish Delight follows the story of the production of lokum (Turkish Delight), one of the most emblematic delicacies of Turkish culinary culture, that extends from Western Anatolia to the Greek island of Syros. Known as ’rahat-ul hulkum’ in Arabic and ’lokoumi’ in Greek, ’lokum’ came to be called as ’Turkish Delight’ at the end of the 19th century, when nationalist policies were introduced, and became the breadbasket for refugees fleeing the war that would soon begin. The film tells part of the story of Syros, which was built with the labour of Greek (Rum in Turkish) refugees from Anatolia and the islands, and focuses on the forced separation of peoples who lived together for centuries.

Selen Solak’s video, shot with her family camera in İğneada, is an essay on how magical and beautiful nature and home itself can be for many reasons when you are a child.

2017 Turkish film.

A family of five women lived in Hilmi Bey Apartment, Flat 3. The head of the family, Nur, was responsible for the livelihood of her older sister who stayed at home, her two confused daughters, and her 94-year-old mother, Refiya, who had dementia. Because her older sister, Deli Peri, is still chasing dreams and does not take on the responsibilities of the house. Hosted by Obsessive Dr. Hilmi Bey is constantly pressing the family and constantly asking for the rent money. Fortunately for the young girl of the house, there is an Anatolian young man, the apartment worker Satilmis Efendi, who supports the family in difficult times.

Abandoned by vacationers, distressed and angry dogs roam the streets of a seaside town but a far worse fate awaits them.

A man living alone on his island embarks on an unknown journey as the ocean rises. While drifting in his boat for days, he finds himself passing through a flooded city. After a great despair, he finds hope again on a piece of land with other people.

An author face the criticizm againts himself and find way to the world again. Fight with criticizer and himself too. Searching for a meaning. Colorizing the world for himself again.

Years ago, Hasan Ağa and his friends made false accusations, leading to the murder of Cemile and Zeynep's mothers. Zeynep cannot escape the feelings of revenge she has harbored for years. Zeynep, who was exposed to a spell cast on her mother's house, begins to kill people under the spell's influence. Cemile, her boyfriend Kadir, and Cemile's cousin Halim try to eliminate the effects of the spell that has taken hold of Zeynep. However, they find themselves facing Haşim Ağa and his men and engage in a fierce battle with them. While Zeynep pursues her revenge, Halim Ağa is also after Kadir. The situation grows increasingly dire with each passing day.

The cold, the fog and the haze pervades all around. We get the feeling of being besieged through an eternal winter and a never-ending war. Within this numb atmosphere in which all has frozen, one embarks on a journey to his/her past and future.

Film focuses on celebrity-era of Turkish pop singer Serdar Ortaç.

A documentary about a city deprived of its colors by the devastating effects of war.

A foreign man encounters material and moral obstacles on his new journey, which he begins with the hope of finding a comfortable environment.

This short, autobiographical documentary combines phone monologues, dashboard camera footage, and visual accounts from social media to make a unique, inside look into the life of an up-and-coming female artist from Baghdad who inevitably crosses paths with political turmoil. Munaf documents her journey from her attempts at creating contemporary art in a very limiting environment, the ISIS invasion, and her emigration to Turkey to the invasion of Ukraine where her parents emigrated to.

An unprecedented silence was heard on the streets during the lockdown brought by the Covid-19 crisis. The silence grew and became a considerable uncertainty. Everyone looked for a wayto go on, but what about those who don't have the way?

It tells the story of a person who is stuck with the concept of home and attaches a lot of meaning to small things, cnoosing herself as a weapon ata Russian roulette table and the battle of her inner roulette.

An old lady wearing her swimsuit, has to prove to herself that she can use the diving board to get into the pool.

The last moments of a man on trial for killing the rose, on the way of madness.

Inspired by the legendary hero Gilgamesh, She Who Saw the Deep reflects on the ancient pursuit of immortality and explores the power of art, landscape and social organisation to transcend the limitations of circumstance.

I was a ghost myself is a film following a ghost’s footsteps, psychogeographically trailing through a city where the ancient intertwines with the modern. The ghost haunts this itinerary of places projecting its haunts as light in moving images. As an archaeologist, the ghost portrays the present to uncover the past layer by layer through cracks and reveals, exposing herself with her memories and of others who have come and gone before. During two years of shooting, the filmmaker visits the town she grew up in and the city she later lived in. Starting in the city’s historical peninsula, in the ruinous dungeons she asks ‘is there cinema after death?’ She then visits her childhood town to see her grandmother’s grave, her old family house and school. Filmed entirely with expired/old stock super 8mm film, handmade camera lenses and scratched film technique, the beams of light, dust and aged texture of the film compose the ghost in its emotional state.

A documentary exploring the condition, evolution and interaction of Turkish jazz music and its musicians, in parallel to Turkish history.

Picture three places. 1. A workshop in Germany where we follow the making of a prosthetic hand. 2. A traditional glove-making workshop in Millau, in the south of France. 3. A jeans factory in Istanbul, illustrating large-scale industrial production. A succession of three workplaces, but with a common viewpoint and subject: the relationship between the hand and the machine, the work and the material, all of them patiently and rigorously observed.

A man seeking the meaning of his existence within himself is lost between dream and reality.

A suicidal man has become virtually invisible in his social circle.

The events of Semih and his wife Burcu, who produce content for social media, in the camp they went to for the weekend.

A young man joins a gang of robbers to bring excitement to his life. His wish comes true in the worst way possible.

The friendship of two friends is tested when the mysterious organization they both work for contact them with new directions.

It tells the story of Mirsad and Haris, who go after war criminals who took part in massacres such as Srebrenica during the Bosnian War.

“There are candies in a child’s life. There are trees, flowers, insects. There is no death in a child’s life. For him, all beauty that exists will exist forever.”

Aslı, who struggles with phobias caused by her stepfather during her childhood, undergoes psychological treatment. Aslı, who struggles with a fear of the dark, a fear of contamination, a fear of shadows, and a fear of mice, is forced to take the subway home after attending a party one night when she cannot find a taxi. Carrying two bags containing disinfectant, a flashlight, spare batteries, and various cleaning supplies to help her overcome her fears, Aslı boards the train, chooses a quiet spot, and starts listening to music. However, she falls asleep and ends up trapped in the last car when it reaches the final stop. When she wakes up, Aslı finds herself alone in a dark car and realizes that one of her bags has been stolen and her phone is dead. Left alone with her greatest fears, will Aslı be able to escape the car?

The Sun shines, ice melts A polar bear on its own A child cries out ah! The haiku poem you read above is the core of the “Scream For Ice”. And the narrative form of “Scream For Ice” is based on the traditional Japanese art of poetry, Haiku.

Kauai is the last bird in the world. In this world that has remained "silent," he is searching for "sound."

The life of a man changes abruptly. After serving a prison sentence, he is no longer part of the privileged class and now survives in Tarlabasi, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Istanbul.