Canadian Premiere
Derya and Aziz, a successful theatre couple based in Ankara, are celebrating the premiere of their latest play when they find themselves targeted by censorious state investigations. Practically overnight, their lives are upended: they’re pushed out of their jobs and home and forced to relocate to Istanbul to live with Aziz’s mother. Confronted with dwindling finances, the couple do their best to raise their teen daughter, Ezgi, but as political and personal pressures mount, their convictions are put to the test.
Winner of this year’s Golden Bear, Yellow Letters is the latest dramatic firestorm from acclaimed writer-director İlker Çatak (The Teachers’ Lounge, VIFF 2023). Although the film is set in Turkey, title cards boldly declare that it was shot entirely in Germany: “Berlin as Ankara,” “Hamburg as Istanbul.” No mere exercise in Brechtian alienation, the decision highlights the film’s boldly subversive political intentions — a reminder that state censorship is not only a very real threat, but that it can happen anywhere.
Golden Bear, Berlinale 2026
Showcase Series Supported by
Community Partner
Özgü Namal, Tansu Biçer, Leyla Smyrna Cabas, İpek Bilgin
Germany/France/Turkey
2026
In Turkish with English subtitles
At Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island
At The Park
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Ingo Fliess
Screenwriter
İlker Çatak, Ayda Meryem Çatak, Enis Köstepen
Cinematography
Judith Kaufmann
Editor
Gesa Jäger
Production Design
Zazie Knepper
Original Music
Marvin Miller
İlker Çatak
İlker Çatak was born in Berlin in 1984 and grew up in Istanbul. He studied directing in Berlin and Hamburg, and his graduation short Sadakat – Treue (2014) won numerous awards, including the Student Academy Award (Gold) for Best International Short Film. In 2019, his feature I Was, I Am, I Will Be won multiple awards following its premiere at the Munich Film Festival, and later received Bronze in the Best Feature Film category at the German Film Awards. His 2023 film The Teachers’ Lounge received numerous international awards and was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.
Filmography: Once Upon a Time… Indianerland (2017); I Was, I Am, I Will Be (2019); Blurred Lines (2020); The Teachers’ Lounge (2023)
Photo by Johannes Duncker
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