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Rosinante film image; three people on a motorcycle going down a road

Rosinante

Panorama

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North American Premiere

When thirty-something husband and father Salih (Fatih Sönmez) loses his job, his middle-class life with wife Ayşe (Nilay Erdönmez) and six-year-old son Emre (Can Demir) is thrown into jeopardy. In the face of mounting bills and a string of job rejections, he takes the unusual step of joining an app-based motorcycle taxi driving service. But when his bike, named Rosinante, one day goes mysteriously missing, the family starts to run out of options.

Directed by first-time filmmaker Baran Gündüzalp, Rosinante charmingly updates Vittorio De Sica’s classic Bicycle Thieves to modern-day Istanbul, with the harsh realities of post-war Italy traded for the crippling cost-of-living crisis in Erdoğan’s Turkey. Featuring a deft mix of domestic drama and absurdist comedy, not to mention a welcome emphasis on everyday finances, the film is at once a touching portrait of a family under pressure and a joyous but realistic exploration of contemporary urban life.

 

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Nilay Erdönmez, Fatih Sönmez, Can Demir

Credits
Country of Origin

Turkey

Year

2023

Language

In Turkish with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
18+
104 min
Drama Family Relations
Alkali Film Istanbul

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Producer

Deniz Yeşilgün, Baran Gündüzalp

Screenwriter

Deniz Yeşilgün, Baran Gündüzalp

Cinematography

Arda Yıldıran

Editor

İsmet Araç

Art Director

Levent Uçma

Baran Gündüzalp headshot; Rosinante director

Baran Gündüzalp

Baran Gündüzalp graduated from the Communication Arts Department of Anadolu University in 2004. His short films were shown in Turkey’s most prestigious festivals between 2008 and 2018. His debut feature Rosinante had its world premiere at the 36th Tokyo Film Festival in 2023. It won the Best Screenplay Award at the 4th Annaba Film Festival and the Best Film Award at the 22nd Ischia Film Festival held in Italy.

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