The Mirror

Five short films by five directors based on themes of love and tolerance, each independent of the other. Supported by the Ministry of Culture and Efes Pilsen. The collection includes five short films: Ömer Kavur's "The Meeting," İrfan Tözüm's "Monte Cristo," Yusuf Kurçenli's "Because I Love Her," Erden Kıral's "Moon Stories," and Zeki Ökten's "Always the Same."

The film tells the story of a love affair between two young people who hide their true identities. A wealthy father from Adana sends one of his sons to Istanbul with his brothers to marry the daughter of an old friend. The three brothers meet their other brother, Ömer, who left home years ago. Ömer, an engineer, needs money. His brother, who does not want to marry, convinces Ömer to take his place. Meanwhile, Filiz, who is being forced to marry by her father, switches roles with the housekeeper. Ömer believes Filiz to be a poor housekeeper, while Filiz thinks Ömer is a wealthy playboy. Though they initially cannot get along, the two will grow closer over time.

Based on a well-known Turkish novel, Dilan narrates the story of a peasant woman who decides to avenge the murder of her lover. In a remote village in Southeastern Turkey, two men are in love with beautiful Dilan: the rich Paso and the poor but brave Mirkan. When Dilan chooses Mirkan, Paso has the youth killed by one of his men. Dilan marries Paso, but she murders him on their wedding night and runs away to the mountains. A tragic love story as well as a realistic portrait of the existence of the rural people of Anatolia, Dilan was shown at several international film festivals, including Cannes, Venice and Berlin.

A woman trying to take revenge on her husband who left her.

Ekrem, a young man, goes to America to study. When Ekrem returns to his country, he will be engaged to Necla, the troubled daughter of Aziz, a wealthy businessman. Türkan, on the other hand, is a poor woman who works as a street vendor. Türkan's life takes a completely different turn when she accidentally meets Aziz one day. Aziz wants Türkan to take her daughter's place and stand in front of Ekrem. Türkan, who accepts Aziz's offer, introduces herself to Ekrem as Necla. However, the love that begins between Türkan and Ekrem will be cut short when Türkan's secret is revealed.

An urban Turkish teacher is transferred for political reasons to a backward Kurdish village in the mountains near the Iranian border. He is welcomed with distrust, but during that harsh year the mutual cultural misunderstandings fade away.

The tragic story of three farm worker who migrates from their village to the cotton land Çukurova.

Based on real events, this story traces a young district governor’s moral awakening as he confronts a powerful landowner in rural Adana. What begins as a routine bureaucratic act soon turns into a struggle to shield villagers from exploitation, greed, and the threat of malaria.

During the year of the repressive military regime, a Turkish writer gets disillusioned by the loss of a dear friend and retires to his hometown on a remote island where he feels safe from the political turmoil. There he escapes to the world of memories, having imaginary conversations with his dead friend. However, the news of a new murder alerts him to the dangers lying ahead. Shot in Turkey following the years of military regime, Av Zamani carries autobiographical elements as the director Erden Kiral also had to flee the repressive regime of his country to be an exile in Germany. The weakness of the film is that the director is not able to take enough distance from the events to give the story a more universal appeal. Av Zamani was screened at the Montreal World Film Festival 1988.

Centers on a passionate and complicated love story that connects three small-town people trying to survive solely on their labor. Aydanur is a young woman living in Anatolia who wants to break away from whatever life has--or doesn't have--to offer her. Meanwhile, Mahmut is stuck between Aydanur and his wife, Songul. However, Aydanur starts covering a much bigger space in his heart. The roads of the two intersect at a tavern.

After the murder he committed, Cemal escaped to a mine and hid with the fear of retribution. Another man chasing him for this. What these two men have in common is a woman named Zeynep. Zeynep, who is actually married to Cemal, had a passionate relationship with a man named Cumali years ago, but Cumali is also married and has children.

Mavi Sürgün is a fictionalized account of one period of the life of a Turkish journalist who was condemned to exile for an article he wrote in 1925. He turned his punishment into a reward by creating a little paradise in what is today the holiday resort, Bodrum. In fact he is considered by some to be the first ecologist. The film concentrates on this latter aspect of his character and through flashbacks portrays the inner turmoil of a man who is trying to come to terms with his past. The slow pace is somewhat of a drawback, the flashbacks are often confusing and the protagonist is not always very convincing. But the photography of the country side is exceptional Kenan Ormanlar and the short appearance by a very theatrical Hanna Schygulla of Fassbinder fame adds a little spice to the drama.

A family forcibly displaced from their village struggles to stay together when Süsen, the daughter of an already broken home, defies her kin to marry her childhood love Yusuf. As her father and brother abandon the family and marriage fails to bring the dreamed-of salvation, Süsen and Yusuf must confront mounting responsibilities and learn to adapt, or risk losing each other entirely.

Osman is a jealous and proud gentleman. Zala, who must have married him at a young age is unhappy. Avci, caught in a storm and had to take refuge in his hut, is an attractive young man who knows how to take advantage of his environment.

Based on true events, Yolda is the story of Yilmaz Guney, at the time the most celebrated filmmaker in Turkey, and the final years of his life in prison.