If you’ve never seen a Turkish film, there’s a lot to learn about the country’s cinematic history and present. For a thorough introduction, watch one of these films.
1. Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım
Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalm (The Girl with the Red Scarf), starring Türkan oray and Kadir nanr, two of Turkey’s most renowned actors, is an enduring classic that should not be missed. Young Asya is smitten by a city slicker who takes advantage of her sexual inexperience. Immediately after they wed, he disappeared, leaving her and her children to care for themselves until she received the help she needed.
2. Hababam Sınıfı
In the 1970s, the Hababam Snifa film series was a comedic masterpiece. Famous performers like as Kemal Sunal, Tark Akan, and Münir zkul play pupils in a private school comedy that causes havoc on the headmaster and the other students.
3. Tosun Paşa
Featuring Turkey’s most renowned comedy actor, Kemal Sunal, this is a must-see. The plot centres around two Turkish families who are vying for a piece of property that might be worth millions of dollars. Tosun Paşa, an Ottoman war general, is the inspiration for a costume for one of the families’ butlers.
4. Eşkiya
In Eşkiya, Turkish actor ener en takes on the character of Baran, a notorious criminal. Re-entering the outside world upon his release from jail after 35 years, he has to deal with a whole new landscape, as well as those who have harmed him.
5. Kış Uykusu
Nuri Bilge Ceylan built a reputation for himself with Distant and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia before winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival in 2014 for Kş Uykusu (Winter Sleep). The story of Aydn, a former actor turned landowner in a small Turkish hamlet, centers on the difficulties he faces in dealing with his family and one of his tenants.
6. The Edge of Heaven
Among the works of German-Turkish director Fatih Akn, it’s difficult to pick a favorite. His 2007 picture, The Edge of Heaven, is another professional high point for Akn, who shot to fame with 2004’s Head-On. A man returns to Turkey from Germany in search of the daughter of the lady he killed by accident.
7. Herşey Çok Güzel Olacak
The film, Herşey ok Güzel Olacak (Everything’s Gonna Be Great), stars actor and comedian Cem Ylmaz (who went on to become a great comedy star), and tells the story of two brothers who connect while fleeing from a Mafioso.
8. Mustang
Mustang, a film by French-Turkish director Deniz Gamze Ergüven, examines the status of women in rural Turkey in a very honest and distressing way. When a gang of lads and five orphan girls are seen having fun on the beach together, a strict society steps in to punish the girls.
9. Kaybedenler Kulübü
Kaybedenler Kulübü (Losers’ Club), a late-night radio show presented by Kaan and Mete in Istanbul in the mid-1990s, is the inspiration for this film. Their on-air candor affects their off-air relationships, as they discuss their love lives, their everyday challenges, and their sexually provocative behavior.
10. Kedi
Anyone who has visited Istanbul understands how important street cats are to the city’s overall character. Kedi takes an intimate look at Istanbul’s daily routine and its distinctive beauty by following seven such cats and the folks who love and care for them.
