Take on Classics

On 25 March, we present Take on Classics: a look at human rights through the lens of cinematic classics about the focus country.

The thematic programme features Mustang by Deniz Gamze Ergüven. Lale and her four sisters return home after their last school day in a village in northern Turkey. On their way home the girls innocently play with a few boys from the village. When an interfering neighbour sees this as debauchery, the girls are caught up in a local scandal with unintended consequences.

The film will be introduced by Nazmiye Oral, one of the festival’s guests of honour.

We also show YOL – The Full Version by Kurdish filmmaker Yılmaz Güney. Banned in Türkiye until 1999 due to its depiction of Kurdish culture, this story of how five prisoners spent their week of leave won the Palme d’Or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. This newly produced ‘full’ version of the film restores the sixth story that was in Güney’s original script.

Prior to the screening, moderator Gökhan Yeter takes us into conversation with producer Donat Keusch. Hear from Keusch, who has worked with Yılmaz Güney, first-hand how the film came about and his personal experiences with Güney.