Archives

Can

    Director: Rasit Celikezer

    Screenwriters: Rasit Celikezer

    Institute History

    Loving Istanbul couple Ayşe and Cemal need only a child to complete their life together, but they cannot conceive. To salvage Cemal’s pride, they resort to illegal means to procure a baby. This wild grab at a more perfect life proves their undoing, leading the couple to spiral toward separate futures. The couple's estrangement is intertwined with the film’s parallel narrative, in which a distant and neglectful single mom is raising her little boy, Can.

    Director/screenwriter Raşit Çelikezer conjures up a compelling tale about family, pride, and what we risk when we fail to value what we have. The veteran Turkish cast, including Selen Uçer (Ayşe) and Serdar Orçin (Cemal), allows our understanding of each character to evolve throughout the story. Can honors the tradition of Yeşilçam—shorthand for the golden age of Turkish cinema. As such, Can infuses its traditional premise with an inventive storytelling structure and a fresh take on family sorrows as old as time.

    Award Winner
    World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize for Artistic Vision

    — H.Z.
    Awards
    World Cinema Jury Prize Dramatic, World Cinema Special Jury Prize Dramatic
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