Şebnem Hassanisoughi

Swing

The last 12 minutes of a young woman in a house on the edge of the city. The radical decision of a woman whose life was made a prison by tradition, violence and poverty...

The Long Way Home

Inhospitable at the best of times, the snow-covered mountainscapes of Eastern Anatolia constituted a fatal frontier for many war exiles after the battle of Sarikamish in 1915, and provides a canvas laced with beauty and threat for this bone-chilling survival yarn, the superb debut feature of Alphan Eşeli. Starting out with three characters – a refugee mother and daughter and their grizzled guide – the film traces their daunting trek across this barren terrain to safety, with the Russians encroaching and other stragglers, including a pair of wounded, frostbitten Ottoman soldiers, all orbiting the same burnt-out village they find in their path. Puncturing its aura of ghostly impasse with some shocking narrative reversals, and constantly prickling with the mutual dread of strangers in gruelling extremes, the movie stakes out hugely credible ground next to established Eastern Front war classics (In the Fog, Come and See) while remaining thoroughly its own beast. (Source: LFF programme)

Coastliners

Coastliners puts the theme of “human rights” together with different stories, and consists of five short fiction films made by internationally acclaimed different directors. We accompany the personal effects of refugees washed ashore, the peculiar story of an assaulted young man, a mother and daughter who take refuge in a house when bombs sound on the Syrian border, a hero stuck in the hurly burly of Istanbul, trying to overcome obstacles; and the her spiritual journey of a pregnant woman trying to return to her village from where she was cast away.

This Is Not A Place For You

This is the story of a young lady who is searching for a flat. Something strange begins to evolve in her body&soul.

Nausea

Ahmet, who had recently lost his wife and little daughter in a traffic accident while he was away with his lover, is a prominent person dealing with "head work". As someone who does not care for anybody and does not knuckle under anything, he moves on quite unaffected. Yet some things start to change in himself and his life without any apparent reason.

Butterflies

Three strangers with one thing in common — the same father — come to a Turkish village to bury him, and learn about him and each other.

Lifeboat

Iben and Thomas, a couple from Scandinavia, are on vacation on a sail boat in the Greek archipelago. Suddenly, one night, Iben hear a cry for help from the water.

The Great Istanbul Depression

Didem and Ayse aren't able to find a job even though it has been a while since they've graduated from the university. In this time period in which these two young women step into adulthood and need to make money now - this period of time that is short for humanity, but lingering for them - the days are not much different from the previous ones. On the other hand, in order to able to stay in Istanbul, they must at least earn enough money to cover their rent, on the other hand, what they dream of, what want to do. They cannot find a way to earn money. On the edge of the metropolis, they are stuck in between the skyscrapers rising among the terrace of their home and the ruined apartment buildings.

The Yellow, The Cat, The Kayakers and The Host

The Host is a woman living alone in the middle of a vast land. The visitors that she has long waited for finally arrive. They mingle with the Host's life, both interfering with her daily routines and helping her to take a decision.

What Remains

While both living under demanding conditions of city life, Sevda and Zuhal’s paths intersect when Sevda’s husband Cezmi starts having an affair with Zuhal. This betrayal is life threatening for Sevda, who considers her marriage and the perfect order of daily life she created as a huge success.

Black Crow

Sara is a famous Iranian actress lives in France for years. She lost her contact with her family she left in Iran, when she immigrated to France at 17. One night when she comes home she receives a letter form her father calling her to Iran. As her entrance to her country is prohibited because of the obscene scenes she took part in, she takes illegal ways to arrive her village in Iran. A dangerous long journey full of patience; she will travel on the garrons through the foggy and snowy mountains, starts for her. Accompanied by the smugglers and a group of Turkish guides, will she be able to arrive her village to discover the mystery of her father's letter?

And The Rest Will Follow

Famous film director Levent (45), the honorary guest of Soke Film Festival from Istanbul, is completely unaware of Aliye (25), a housekeeper at the hotel where he is staying. However, Aliye, who is trying to tailor a new life story for herself, knows Levent and his films very well. Aliye's intriguing story brings together these two distant people with completely different lives. Now, they have to choose between reality and fiction.