Discoveries from Turkey World Cinema

Turkish Mr. Majestyk

A love story between a poor man and a rich girl. The rich girl's father tries to prevent their marriage and he declares a war against the poor boy's family.

Showcasing three short films by American writer James Baldwin, wherein he muses about race, sexuality and civil rights, among other topics, in Istanbul, Paris and Great Britain.

As an unexpected truth about a young women gets revealed to her mother, the basic fact that a mother - daughter relationship is supposed to be based on unconditional love will have to be questioned.

5 students go to a school trip in Karantina Island for History class. But one of them will get lost into an abandoned hospital and her classmates will have to find her, facing paranormal threats along the way.

Yaprak is just one of thousands of young women, who leave their quiet village lives behind them to seek their fortune in Istanbul. But the reality of life in a big city is harsh, and Yaprak is forced to take a job in one of the cities licensed brothels. Her beauty and youth make her popular with the patrons and she is soon the focus of the attention of two men; Necmi, a spineless but well meaning young man, and Arab, a deranged pimp who has recently lost his main source of income, his wife Zargana. Necmi wants to take Yaprak away from her nightmare existence, but soon finds himself forced to separate from her by the viscous Arab. Arab spends all of Yaprak's money, but after a savage attack on her, she comes to her senses. She and Necmi get married and as Yaprak says farewell to her friends in the brothel, Arab returns for the last time to seek his brutal revenge...

Recep, a retired soldier, is left alone after losing his wife. He lives a routine life every day. She cannot get along with her upper neighbor Nilgün, who is a prostitute. He tries to kick Nilgün out of the apartment because he is the manager. One day, his grandson Ali comes to stay for a while. He advises Ali to stay away from Nilgün.

The human tragedy and the suffering of the Crimean Turks who were taken hostage as prisoners of war in German prison camps during World War II.

Ahmet supports his elderly mother by driving a taxi. He is a trusted and beloved member of his neighborhood. Ahmet helps a woman who gets into his car escape from a gang. Later, gang members who catch Ahmet find out where the young woman is. The woman is killed during a commotion in a hotel room. The gang knocks Ahmet unconscious and leaves him there, then reports the incident to the police. The only way Ahmet can prove his innocence is to flee. However, this adventure will lead to new losses.

A woman tries to save her marriage and win her husband back whilst trying to solve her mental problems. Yonca, who is passionately attached to her husband, does everything for the sake of saving her relationship.

Feeling stuck in her life, Alice follows the call of a mobile app and plots into a virtual world by following the white rabbit. She finds herself in a fantastic world while she searching for answers to the “Who am I?”. Alice will test her courage in this new universe with her imagination and fears.

A family migrates to Istanbul from the rural parts of Anatolia, and they bring their traditions with them. The men of the family are giving away the girls of the family in return for a hefty bride-price. Zelha, one of the girls, revolts against this attitude and tries to save her sisters.

A family man, driven to the edge by his inability to financially support his family, is found running about on the street naked. Suddenly, he turns into a nationwide celebrity and an inspiration for millions of people in poverty.

Lawyer Tuğçe is unexpectedly left by her boyfriend Furkan. Struggling at work, she agrees to help her troubled client Erdem in exchange for rekindling her relationship with Furkan. Plans go awry, but as Tuğçe and Erdem get to know each other, she discovers true love in Erdem's arms.

At thirty, and in prison Murat can’t shake his memories and nightmares. He has internalized his mom’s childhood traumas as if his own. His mom expected him to grow up and to save her, while his father, married to another woman, wanted to make a man out of him at age seven. His circumcision festivity, a night supposedly organized for his joy became his hell.

Cüneyt Arkin is war veteran, now using lots of of alcohol to forget terrible wartime memories. But some drug mafia bastards forces him to take double barreled shotgun and show them what angry Cüneyt is capable of.

Şefik, a successful soldier, is one of the leading figures of the Committee of Union and Progress. When Abdulhamid II declares a constitutional monarchy, Şefik and his friends go to Istanbul. They plan to closely monitor the events unfolding there. However, it is here that Şefik will part ways with the society.

After the 60 revolt, the two schizophrenics who had escaped from the mental hospital, who came from an anatolian township, lost their way from snow, explained how they managed the district governor and the gendarmerie and they managed to the township.

Özlem Dersanesi is staying in a hotel in Antalya in order to attend the national music contest for private prep schools.

Muharrem faces his life, thoughts, and inner darkness at a party he does not want to attend.

The movie takes place in the kitchen of Cankaya Mansion on Sunday night, October 28, 1923, a day before the proclamation of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey and formally marking the end of the Ottoman Empire.

The movie Saskin (Silly) is about a young guy Mehmet, who falls in love with a girl who happens to comment about perfect love on a radio show and follows her to a holiday resort where she possibly work.

Aysen has never had an intimate relationship before. As she gets closer to her colleague Cem, the repressed emotions she holds inside emerge.

A man suspects his wife of being unfaithful, but he's not prepared for what her confession will do to him.

Softcore. A lovely young lass is free with her associations, stirring up jealousy and contention amongst the village men.

Sıtkı, the head of the four-member Mutlu family, is a man known for his stinginess. His wife Türkan is tired of her life and complains about her husband's indifference to the family. The couple, who have not been on vacation for years, rent a caravan after their therapist's persuasion. As the couple sets off toward Antalya, they encounter some mishaps along the way. Their car breaks down, forcing them to head to Yavaşlar Village. The urban couple, now guests of the villagers, realize there are things they can teach the villagers. This partnership will not only bridge the two cultures but also support a just cause.

Tamer Karadağlı, one of Turkey's most famous actors, known to audiences as Haluk, the stone-hearted man, has grown tired of being typecast in the same role throughout his career. While looking to play something different, he receives an offer from producer Birol Güven for a new TV series. Karadağlı accepts the role to prove to everyone that he can play any kind of character. Meanwhile, due to his uncontrollable womanizing in his personal life, he has drifted apart from his family; his ex-wife Arzu Balkan cannot tolerate the tabloid headlines. Amidst all this chaos, Tamer Karadağlı seeks ways to change and prove himself both to the industry and his family.

Making his living from gardening and farming in the land he inherited from his father, Hasan tries to get rid of the power pole that is going to be installed in the midst of his land. His impending voyage to Mecca for pilgrimage leads to soul searching into his past.

Three Turkish commandos infiltrate Cyprus in an attempt to stop the EOKA destroying Turkish villages and killing Turks in Greece

The film is about the love story between Murat and Selma. Murat is a masseur loved by his clients. Her biggest goal in life is to make her daughter Ebru happy. One day, he is assigned to the physical therapy of Abbas, one of the bosses of the underworld. He meets Selma, Abbas' daughter. The two, who did not get along at first, fall in love with each other over time. But the struggle between Abbas and his rival Kamil irreversibly affects Murat and those around him.

The film tells the story of Yavuz Sultan Selim, who went on a campaign to the East after ascending the throne. Grand Vizier Ali Pasha wants Prince Ahmet to succeed Sultan Bayezid II. Prince Selim, who objects to this situation, sets off for Istanbul. With the support of the Janissaries and those in the palace, he ascends the throne. He has the other princes who covet the throne killed and turns his attention to Shah Ismail, who is causing trouble in the east of the country. Selim sends his men ahead to gather information and begins preparations for his campaign against Iran.

This semi scripted documentary hosted by Gokhan Ozoguz revolves around the issue of water crisis. In a near future, Istanbul will be on the verge of a water crisis, and if the people of 2019 refuse to change their habits, that future is very dark.

On a mission in Istanbul, an interpol agent disrupts the activities of a powerful drug lord and his accomplices. To get rid of him, the gangsters blackmail a skeet shooting champion into shooting the inspector.

Sabri lives alone in the suburbs of Ankara. His daughter, who lives in Istanbul, invites him to spend a few days with her and her young son at her seaside vacation home. After the initial joy of their reunion, tensions arise between them, bringing long-buried resentments to the surface.

Pirated DVD seller Zafer who is formerly an extra in movies, swore to give up illegal works when his wife wanted to get divorce. To win his family back, he and his old-fashioned crew decided to make a movie called "Summit - The End Of Evil" which is a fantastic science fiction movie and couldn't be shot since 1977. A funny, entertaining and emotional journey awaits him who waded into this adventure with his unqualified crew.

Story of a village girl who transforms into a courageous and independent woman and fights against the men who destroyed her life.

An aggressive police officer tries to solve the mystery behind consecutive murders. While doing so, he must fight against his inner demons.

The year is 2055, and the universe is in a state of turmoil, awaiting the formation of a government that can establish universal peace. Until such a time, the Orion Union stands in its stead, an uneasy alliance made up not of planets, but of their individual states, overlorded by unruly gangs, short-sighted tyrants and hissing, domineering queens. In short, chaos reigns.

An expatriate in Turkey, Claire pays the services of a smuggler to flee the country with her only daughter, whose custody she has just lost. But he abandons them in a dilapidated house in the middle of the forest.

Tarkan, a fearless and loyal warrior of Attila the Hun, enters into a bloody struggle to capture the sword of God Mars, a weapon granting world domination to those who wield it.

An ex-con musician returns to Istanbul to take a sweet and silent revenge from the ingenue with whom he once was in love, insensibly to her extramarital affairs.

Cabir believes he killed a man while fleeing the police in the Turkish-Greek-Bulgarian border area. His feelings of guilt pursue him like a ghost. But is his victim actually the husband of Aliyes, the woman Cabir takes in, hiding, protecting him? Atmospherically dense, Turkish love drama about a refugee from Syria.

The Fish In Me tells the liberating story of Barris, who is stuck in his physical and mental limitations, by using the metaphor of opening up from the aquarium into the sea. Barris, a marine biologist in his thirties, was born with a defect in his left hand, making his hand look like a fin. He tries to find a meaning to his physical and psychological problems by using science, especially the theory of evolution. He runs experiments in his aquarium shop in the old town of Istanbul, looking for evidence to support this theory. The limited life that he built for himself comes to an end with a hypnotherapy session, after which he sails to the Aegean Sea, looking for people like him.

A kid witnesses the death of her pregnant mother while filming her with a hand-cam. Years later, he finds an old cassette left on his door. While he tries to find a way to listen to it, he is drawn into a dark abyss of memories.

A young hapless couple's devotion for each other is tested through harsh times of war as they are forced to negate patriotism and dependability to their families and nations, for a length of a lifetime before during and after the war.

Idil, a wedding dress designer, finds herself caught in a conflict involving her ex-boyfriend and a bride's impending marriage. As she navigates this situation, she grapples with her own past and the complexities of relationships.

A journalist named Muntazam, who was imprisoned for a poem he wrote when he was a university student, could not attend his father's funeral because he was in prison, begins to experience paranoia due to this incident.

Fatma, who has been depressed for a long time, decides to start life in a new place. Taking care of a bedridden patient, Fatma realises that she is here for a different reason than she thought.

Feature-length movie based on the characters and plot(s) of Bewitched (1964), which was very popular in Turkey.

There is a blood feud between two families, and people from both families have been killed. The latest victim, Bekir, was sent to prison, and upon his release, he did not want to continue the blood feud, but the other side still harbored resentment and filled the new generation with feelings of revenge. Bekir accepted the murder of his younger brother, who had come on leave from Germany, and came to Istanbul, but despite this, his blood enemy followed him.

As a coincidence, Murat founds his ex-love Selma after several years in his town. He would like to make up and regain her trust and love. However Selma already have a different life style.

Cazibe is a woman in her late thirties, who has never got married or had a relationship with a man in her life. She lives with her old mother and her uncle who feels an attraction towards her. The lonely woman, whose only existence is her small room, spends all her time in this old room, dreaming and fantasising about her ex-lover.

A middle class young man rebels against his father’s brutish authority and seeks a rough romance with a woman of ethnic minority. Yuce’s moral tale draws from the example of today’s Turkish youth and the timeless shadow of fathers over sons.

Ahmet Bedevi, also known as Tarzan of Manisa, was born in 1900 in Baghdad to become a soldier, fighting in the War of Independence and honored with a medal. He returned to a ruined and destroyed Manisa in 1923. Bedevi started working at the Municipality as a fireman and a gardener. He became the pioneer and symbol of planting activities. Because of the soft climate of the area, he first wore a vest and trousers and then he started wandering about in the town in his shorts. The people of Manisa saw his resemblance to Tarzan because of his clothes, and always cherished him with love. Tarzan of Manisa lived in the mount Spilylus, ignoring all his individual needs but working for a greener environment. He died on 31st May, 1963. However, he has never been forgotten by the locals; on the contrary, he was immortalized for the things he did for Manisa and people followed his example.

4 pals find themselves in the middle of an adventure involving the US Army and aliens when one of them is gone missing during their secret weekend getaway without their wives in a spa center in Kömlük.

The legendary love story of Ali and Elif. Ali, who lost everything due to the impact of September 11 on the stock market, dies of a heart attack and goes to the other side. However, he is not accepted on the other side because his time is not up. He cannot return to the world either because his liver has been transplanted into someone else. Ali's angel, Yakup, tells him that his only chance is to find the person who received his liver and kill them.

Zerrin is a young successful businesswoman who runs a hotel. Her elderly husband, Nazmi cannot meet her sexual needs. She also has a daughter, Funda. When a handsome young man, Kenan, applies for a job in the hotel, things quickly become steamy.