Discoveries from Turkey World Cinema

The story of two young men who rob the homes of the girls they are in love with.

Ahmet, a bank teller, is a principled man who is organized in his work and family life. One day, he is assigned to collect money in Adana. On the train journey he takes for this purpose, a woman boards his compartment at one of the intermediate stations.

A group of archaeologists excavate an area of historical ruins. The only aim of Kemal, who is at the head of the team, is to seize the lost Aphrodite statue. However, despite long efforts, the statue could not be found and Kemal became more and more moody. Kemal completely neglects his wife Cemile in this process.

Sarikecilis are the last representatives in Anatolia of the centuries-old tradition of nomadism. Making their way to sea level in winter, and to the highlands in summer, they spend seven months of the year in transit, living off of the goats they keep. This documentary film is telling the story of the last Nomadic tribe in Anatolia within their natural habitat.

Anoush, a little girl, goes to borrow a wedding dress from a distant relative for her brother's wedding. Leyla, a teacher, comes home as a second intruder. Leyla has just been appointed to the village school. She learns that the village school had been abandoned many years ago and that there is no children in the school age. On the other hand, Anoush could not learn to write although he could read because her teacher resigned and left the village. Transportation between villages takes place once a day. Anoush and Leyla are forced to spend the night in the same house. Will the two passengers get what they want despite the long road?

The screenwriter of the Istanbul Guardians series is busy preparing for the new episode to be released. When his boss asks him to write an episode introducing the Gümüşçüler Çarşısı (Silversmiths' Bazaar), he goes to Veli Dede's shop to do some research. The young woman finds herself in the midst of a great mystery at the shop she went to for research. According to the stories, there is a hidden treasure beneath Istanbul, and the secret of this treasure is entrusted to the silversmiths. Veli Dede is the last guardian of this treasure. The treasure is not a valuable stone like gold, diamonds, or rubies, but a life-giving water that heals those who drink it and keeps them from aging. After learning this, Aslı embarks on a mysterious adventure.

A few months before the 1980 coup in Ankara, after posting illegal flyers, Faruk returns home injured as knocks at the door and tension close in on the family.

Turkish film industry has been experiencing a breakthrough in the last ten years. According to 2015 figures, there is a bold uptrend in terms of viewers and film production. Yet without any regulations at work, this growth only made injustices in distribution bigger. While a single cinema chain controls more then 50% of the market, it also started to control distribution and production. In this monopolized environment, there seems to be no country for independent production. With the guidance of producers, distributors, and economists, the film traces the distortion created by the bad economy that has become an obstacle for freedom of choice.

The story of a foolish man who engages in relationships with various women in order to inherit a fortune.

The events that befell a young man obsessed with getting rich quick.

An experimental and video art film in which an ox is butchered by a butcher.

On a Saturday night in Istanbul, despite the pleas of his fiancée, cynical Alper refuses to join the anti-government protests happening on his doorstep. He just wants to stay home for his weekly dose of poker, played with his regular crew of high-school friends. Alper's game is threatened as his friends set off on a series of passionate, and at times ill-thought-out, squabbles on whether they should join the demonstrations or not.

Barber Adnan is the neighborhood gossip. He knows everything about his customers in the neighborhood. When Adnan learns he's about to be fired, he clings to his job. Aykut, who is trying to become an internet sensation through his daughter's social media accounts, Merve, who left her city life behind to move to the village, and Meriç, who faced every possible mishap while visiting a village to ask for a girl's hand in marriage—these are the entertaining stories Adnan shares with the audience...

The story of a Turkish family living in Germany and their struggle for survival, as well as their relationship with their Greek friends, Niko.

One of the biggest fears of the famous presenter Halim is to start a home and have children. When Melek, who has four children, enters Halim's life, things get complicated.

Cemil is a feisty young man from Trabzon who played for Trabzonspor in the mid-1990s. He transferred to Beşiktaş during the same period and changed greatly in character after moving to Istanbul. During a Beşiktaş-Trabzonspor match, he scored three goals against his former team, Trabzonspor, and then did three somersaults, earning him the nickname "Somersaulting Cemil" and turning all his old friends and fellow Trabzon natives against him. He left his fiancée Zeynep and settled in Istanbul, never returning to his hometown for 20 years. Now in his 40s, Cemil is forced to return to Trabzon when he hears that his father has had a heart attack. However, he is too late—his father has already passed away. He wants to return to Istanbul immediately after the funeral, but he is forced to change his mind after hearing the words of his closest friend, Kemal.

The owner of the farm, Muhteem Hanim, is a widow. She wants to be with Ahmet, a handsome and young employee.

An out-of-pocket friendship between a criminal who escapes from justice and a child he has to take hostage.

Being surrounded by the dark political events in Kurdistan of Turkey at 1990’s as a child, Mirza cannot escape from being a victim of those devastating events that have been in existence for a long time. He is overclouded with deep misery and after his mother’s death, Mirza becomes a passive and introverted child who struggles with bad dreams. However, his life changes upon arrival of a guest named Mir Ahmed, with who develop friendship after Mir Ahmed’s persistent effort.

Bahtiyar Hoca, who has been unable to marry 36 times because of his mother, is a strange medium. However, Bahtiyar Hoca will defy his fate and his mother, and despite the various problems caused by his nephews, he will set his mind on marrying Dul Pakize, a widow who has recently moved to the village and has had two failed marriages. He will stop at nothing to achieve this!

Kemal and Cebbar, who dream of going to Istanbul, sell their shops in Adana. Kemal comes to Istanbul to get the shop money. Here she meets A Decel and there is a rapprochement between them. Meanwhile, he finds out that Cebbar has to come to get the money. Arriving in Istanbul the next day, Cebbar admits that the money is not for the shop, but because he is an informant. Kemal, who understands that they are in trouble, will try to get out of this situation while taking care of Aysel on the one hand.

Infinite Nectar draws on the poetics of space by exploring abandoned Sikh heritage buildings in the city of Lahore (Pakistan). These spaces carry traces of the 1947 Partition of India and have been resilient in the face of power shifts, urban transformations and cycles of trauma throughout history. The artist unfolds these layers through the textures, architectural juxtapositions, and cracks within these spaces, overlaying them with animated mosaic-like stones and caressing them with a fragmented marble hand of Maharani Jindan Kaur, the last empress of the Sikh Empire and a revolutionary female character, who returns back to her place of origin and haunts the city like a ghost.

Türkan, who was mistreated by her aunt, gradually gains an important place in the heart of rich Yılmaz.

Muhtar Bahri's useless son Fikret, who is a jackal, does not settle down in the army and manages to get a report stating that he is unfit for military service. While preparing to return to the village with his fox-like mind, he meets Nurse Kumru, who has been assigned to the village of Aşağı Delice, on the bus. While all the villagers are at Hüseyin and Afet's wedding, Fikret suddenly shows up, shocking everyone, including Ayşe. He lies to the entire village, claiming he has lost his memory, and begins to get his way. Of course, Dr. Mehmet is the most upset by this situation... On the other hand, the village men form a line in front of the health center, captivated by the beauty of Nurse Kumru, who has come to the village. Fikret and Kumru’s efforts to separate their lovers will bring great troubles upon Mehmet and Ayşe. Will the big schemes awaiting Ayşe and Mehmet prevent the couple from reuniting?

The story of a woman who goes to prison to protect her family and a father left alone with his three daughters. You will witness the girls' sometimes comical, sometimes dramatic attempts to prevent their father from remarrying.

One evening, Uncle Müşfik leaves home to attend a party with his friends, which leads to an adventure unlike anything the puppets have ever experienced before. Two thieves named Behçet and Riko break into the house, thinking that Müşfik is not home. However, Müşfik has entrusted the mansion to the puppets before leaving. The puppets begin to defend the mansion against Behçet and Riko. When Behçet and Riko see the living, walking, talking puppets, they are stunned. Thinking they can make a good profit from the puppets, they forget everything else and try to capture them. What they don't know is that the puppets are no easy prey.

Kadir, a meatball maker, father of three and native of Diyarbakır, is determined to fly, and he won’t let tradition, his family, the state and his troublesome paramotor stop him from trying. Because while paying the price of freedom. what matters is maintaining hope against all odds.

Having just entered puberty, bride (Dilan Aksüt) had been forced to marry with groom (Ilyas Salman) whom returned to his hometown after doing many years of jail time and more than fifty years older than her. At first she was afraid, she cries, even resists, having equipped with patchy and second hand sayings, she did not know what is going to happen to her. Sitting in the nuptial chamber with horror, she will start to face with realities after grandfather-aged groom steps into the room.

Set during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, the film revolves around Rıza, who becomes embroiled in a dangerous espionage plot amidst political turmoil. As he navigates betrayal, coded secrets, and shifting alliances, Rıza must rely on both courage and cunning to survive.

The love story of two young people living in the final days of the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Empire has set its sights on Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire, wanting to take precautions, asks for help from Western countries. The Pope makes the union of the Orthodox and Catholic churches a condition for the unity of the people. Some of the people oppose this situation and revolt. George, who escaped after being taken prisoner by the Ottomans, joins the uprising. George, who is Catholic, meets an Orthodox woman named Anna that day. He falls in love with Anna at first sight. George and Anna, who belong to two different denominations, will experience love during the days when the Ottoman Empire invades Byzantium.

Hande has not been able to achieve the same success in her love life as she has in her professional life. While all this is happening, Hande's mother is not idle and searches for a suitable partner for her daughter. Fed up with the pressure, Hande makes a deal with her mother. She agrees to meet and evaluate the five people her mother has suggested. As Hande goes on her dates, she encounters strange events, and things take a very different turn. Will everything go as her mother desires?

I Lost My Heart to a Turk is the story of a German woman Eva Bender, who is deserted by a Turkish worker in Germany five years earlier and left alone with a child Zafer. Eva's father refuses his illegitimate grandson from a Turkish worker. She comes to Kayseri, Turkey with her illegitimate child to seek her lover, Ismail Acar. Ismail is now working at Sümer Cotton Cloth factory as a mechanic and establishing a small private business. Eva finds her ex-lover Ismail who now lives with his wife and children. Humiliated by her ex-lover, the German woman receives assistance by another Turkish worker, Mustafa.

The adventures of a Far Eastern karate player who came to Istanbul in search of his father.

Maksut and Şimşek, who work as plumbers, are assigned to repair the plumbing at the bank on New Year's Eve. Their efforts result in them accidentally demolishing the wall of the bank vault, leaving them face to face with the money stored there. Although they believe that this money has been sent by God to save them from poverty, it brings them nothing but trouble.

Turkish college student Mert Kara travels to the US to work as an Au Pair, yet it somehow turns out to be self discovery, a journey to his soul, which shows him the biggest challenge: his sexual orientation.

The film depicts the life of John the Baptist. Zechariah becomes father to a son. They name him John. At the same time Mary, who is under the protection of Zechariah, gives birth to Jesus. The people think that Zechariah fathered Mary’s child and kill him for it. Fearing the violence of the people, Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth is forced to flee the town with their son, John. But when John the Baptist grows up, he’ll return to the people to spread the word of God. (Meltem İşler Sevindi)

Selçuk and Zeynep fell in love with each other at university and got married at a young age. Selçuk, being jealous of his wife, did not let her work, and Zeynep, out of boredom, turned to shopping and housework. Selçuk, a white-collar worker, eventually grew tired of his wife and decided to separate. Zeynep no longer wanted to stay married to a man who didn’t care about her and agreed to divorce in exchange for a car, a house, and 4,000 lira alimony. Selçuk, eager to divorce his wife as soon as possible, quickly accepted her demands and they divorced.

The story of Recep Usta, a plumber who does his job without enthusiasm and incompetently, who is arrested as the prime suspect in a murder committed in one of the houses he visited for repairs, and how he falls under even greater suspicion while trying to clear up this misunderstanding.

In order to cope with a big disappointment on her wedding day, a woman gathers at the table with her loved ones to share delicious mezes.

The film tells the story of a hired killer. Seyit, whose father is a famous hired killer, loses his mother at a young age. His father entrusts Seyit to a friend and moves to another city. Growing up alone, Seyit waits for his father to return for years. Thirty years pass, and Seyit becomes a killer like his father. Seyit will reunite with his father while carrying out his final assignment.

The story of an impotent man who is a misogynist.

Bora is a street musician. Every evening, he plays his guitar in different parts of Istanbul, trying to earn enough money to get through the night. One evening, as he is returning home after playing his music, his path crosses with Ilgaz. Ilgaz has filed for divorce from her husband Teoman, who is slightly older than her. Teoman is part of the underworld. He never wanted Ilgaz to divorce him.

A Turkish Bey's daughter is in love with an adventurous young man, but her father is forced to arrange a marriage of convenience with Lima, Prince of Tibet, to prevent an invasion by the Mongols. She has to fight hard for her love.

A man famous for his toughness cuts himself off from everything after being released from prison. But his past never leaves him alone. His enemies from his past life, the people he has harmed in some way, never leave him alone. His young son Sezercik does everything he can to save his father from these men. He takes on a task that is too big for him.

There is an author of a theater book. He talks about death in his book, and the main character commits suicide. A journalist comes to talk to the author and asks him, "The book is like real life. Did you write something from your own life?" Upon this, the author shows him the fig tree that the main character uses in the book, and in the end, he experiences what he wrote in his own life.