Discoveries from Turkey World Cinema

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

A young criminal shoots himself to find out if he still has a “soul” despite his murders. That night, the two cops who captured him spiral into madness and chaos as they “search for a surgeon” in a godforsaken town.

A famous singer falls in love with a handsome but married basketball player.

The film tells the story of a fishmonger, who is in love with a beatiful young woman. They prepare for the marriage but all the happiness is destroyed by one bad guy.

Palestinians are fighting annihilation in maternity clinics, too. Like many wives of prisoners in Israeli jails, Hind is trying to smuggle her husband’s sperm in order to conceive a child and cling to hope for the future. But the operation is risky: sperm has a short shelf life, and she must race against time, checkpoints, and traffic in the West Bank, while bombs fall on Gaza.

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.

When the girls class wins the Turkish Swimming Championship, they are sent on vacation as a reward. However, Director's aim is to turn this holiday into a snatch for the Balkan Championship.

The sad, lyrical story of four friends getting together for the first time in years, in a summer town, a “paradise of retired people.”

Kerem, who lost his mother in a mysterious incident, goes through a difficult time with his father's inability to cope. During this time, Kerem is estranged from a group of friends he had seen since high school and is saddened by the separation from Çisil.

A patient escapes from a asylum and rapes some women.

Meltem is very happy with her daughter Beril in their two-story house with a garden outside the city. Beril plays in the garden and paints pictures in front of the fireplace at home. The only thing that prevents Beril from being completely happy is her longing for her father. When asked about her father, Meltem does not give complete answers. While Beril is having a good time, Meltem is having some issues with the house's longtime caretaker. The old man appears at odd times, speaks very little, and seems to be waiting for Meltem to do something. Meltem is quite disturbed by the man's behavior. On top of that, the shared nightmares that Beril and Meltem have begun to experience, along with the people Meltem sees and the voices she hears, have started to cast a shadow over their happiness. The mother and daughter are defenseless in the house. The caretaker may be the greatest threat to them. Additionally, an old gravestone by the pond in the garden holds its own mystery.

What brings together successful journalist Tahir, teacher Feride and Nizam is a special invitation from a secret cult. This cult they are facing asks them to accept the invitation and start a new life.

The turbulent love story of a driver, who intriguedly lands in jail for a crime he didn't commit.

The Girl from the Country; is a 1974 Turkish film starring Perihan Savaş and Salih Kırmızı. The director of the movie The Girl from the Country is Ülkü Erakalın.

Okan was recently fired from his job, pop star Batuhan was cheated on just before proposing, and social media star Basri accidentally killed his dog. They are all depressed, and taken to an old mansion for treatment. They are expecting to relax and have fun there, but local people have unexpected surprises for them.

Alis, an Armenian woman in Turkey, returns to her summerhouse to find her surroundings gone. Urban change threatens her home. Haunted by childhood traumas, she resists, planting her plastic umbrella as a quiet yet firm defiance.

The film tells the story of Nermin and Refik's love. Nermin grows up with Feriha, whom her father adopted. After a successful school career, Nermin starts working as a flight attendant. She and Refik, the pilot of the plane she works on, fall in love quickly and decide to get married. One day, when Nermin returns home, she sees her father with Feriha. Shortly thereafter, her father and Feriha get married. However, Muammer Bey dies. It falls to Nermin and Refik to comfort Feriha, who is left alone after her husband's death. Despite their kind intentions, Feriha has another agenda. Having seized all of Muammer Bey's assets, Feriha will also try to get her hands on Refik.

Watching the dramatic changes in Istanbul’s urban texture, our eyes are drawn to two young men. Ferhat, an unappointed teacher from Mardin (a city on the Türkiye-Syria border,) and his cousin Emrah, an aspiring teacher, work as bricklayers in construction sites, just like their grandfathers and fathers had been doing for decades. They are obliged to this job until a better option becomes available. Overwhelmed with concerns over their future and the tough working conditions, they both dream of a different life, hoping to break the vicious cycle of construction work. From workers’ dormitories to protests and occupation of construction sites, we get glimpses of their lives, hearing stories of struggle, resistance and solidarity, against the backdrop of a city in transformation.

The story of two young people who kidnap the rich girl who mocks him, and then fall in love with each other.

Remzi is a kind-hearted but quarrelsome man who cannot tolerate injustice. Ayten is Recep's only daughter. Recep is a quarrelsome, tough man like Remzi. One day, Recep and Remzi come face to face and get into a fight. Through this incident, Remzi meets Ayten and falls in love with her. Ayten decides to enter a beauty pageant out of defiance toward her friend. Remzi soon discovers that the organizers of the pageant are fraudsters. However, convincing Ayten to change her mind will not be easy.

The story tells of a famous cabaret singer's struggle with fame. Türkan is a singer whose fame has spread throughout the country. She lives surrounded by a fan base. One day, she is captivated by Ömer, whom she sees on stage at the cabaret where she works. However, Ömer has tuberculosis. Türkan's interest intensifies the severity of his illness. He has been in love with Türkan since his student days. Türkan learns of this love from someone else. She will not remain indifferent to the sincerity she has been missing for years. However, Ömer is not the only one in love with the beautiful woman. Her wealthy boss is determined not to give up on Türkan.

When a chemical fire spreads smoke across her village, young Esma must help her father manage new and old troubles in this brutal and powerful look at a rural Anatolian family.

Mahir and Gülsen's daughter Çiğdem and Basri's son Uğur are married and expecting a child. They invite their families over for dinner to share the good news. After dinner, Çiğdem and Uğur announce the news, and everyone is happy except Mahir. Gülsen wants to bring Çiğdem to their home to take care of her during her pregnancy, but Mahir objects. The two families meet again at the children's home. Basri wants to build a house for his children and have them live close to him, but Mahir objects to Gülsen's insistence. However, the children refuse because they have already moved into a house through a cooperative.

Mircin tells the story of a group of friends who are chasing an event that they should stay away from.

The Bülbül family consists of Hazım Bey and his wife Asiye Hanım, their daughter Nevin, their son-in-law Ramazan, and their son Tosun. Hazım Bey retired after thirty years of civil service. Ramazan is caught between enduring his mother-in-law's sharp remarks, trying to fulfill his father-in-law's various requests while he stays home all day, and dealing with his brother-in-law Tosun. Tosun, who cannot hold down a job, falls in love with every woman he sees, and when he receives a negative response, he attempts suicide. He will once again cause trouble for his family.

Fictional Turkish resistance in Nazi occupied Bulgaria

Seyfettin, who goes to Antalya for the Bulvar newspaper men's beauty contest, meets a rich man named Turgay there. A sequel of the 1995 film Zampara Seyfettin and the 1997 film Artist Seyfettin.

Shot in occupied Istanbul, a French nanny seducing the men of the house.

A forgotten musical record connects Caracas to Tehran, revealing untold stories of oil, not as a commodity, but as a political leverage for the liberation struggles in Palestine and building Pan-Arab solidarity between 1960-1970.

The film, set just days before the Great Offensive, follows a group of soldiers assigned a special mission by Mustafa Kemal. Their mission takes a dramatic turn when they encounter a crashed alien spacecraft, forcing them to battle both enemy soldiers and extraterrestrial beings.

Purgatory 5: The Family tells the story of a young woman who finds herself in a terrible nightmare while trying to support the family of her ex-boyfriend who killed her. Zeynep, a young woman, is devastated when she learns that her ex-boyfriend Kadir killed her by hanging. Paying condolences to Kadir's family, Zeynep decides to stay with them for a few days in order to support them upon the insistence of Kadir's mother. However, nothing seen in the house reflects the truth. In this process, Zeynep learns about Kadir's death from an entity that haunts the house. Dragged into a vortex, Zeynep finds herself in the middle of Purgatory, the place between two realms.

The life of Saffet, a member of the middle-upper class in her 40s, changes nothing when she sees Rüya, the beautiful and marginal daughter of her neighbor across the street, whom she has never seen before, in the corridor of her apartment.

Taking place at a reclusive musician's house and portraying a single night, the film follows a young man, who has escaped from Germany to Istanbul.

Rojbash is the story of a group of Kurdish actors, coming together to restage a play from 25 years ago. Their journey straddles between the play, their dreams and the reality. For Kemal who dedicated his life to Kurdish theatre, political conditions of Kurdish language today, is worse than 25 years ago. In response, he decides to call his actor friends scattered around the world, to restage their old play Rojbash. Intertwining daily life with rehearsals and lines from the play, their clamorous days begin.

The story of returning to villages in the southeast that were evacuated due to terrorism.

The state has seized the land stolen by Mask, a notorious and ruthless bandit. Mask cannot accept the loss of his land and plans to eliminate the sheriffs involved in the matter. After raiding the deputy sheriff's house and killing him, Mask tasks his brother with killing the sheriff. Mask's brother goes to the sheriff's farm and gets into a fight with the sheriff, during which he is killed. Mask is now thoroughly hostile toward the sheriff. Mask pursues the sheriff and raids the farm. A fierce battle erupts at the farm. The sheriff arrives at the scene and arrests Mask. A trial is immediately convened at the farmhouse, and Mask is sentenced to death.

This romantic comedy revolves around a blind compeser played by Muzaffer Tema.