A Season in Hakkari

Erden Kiral's 1983 film follows a teacher exiled to Hakkari for political reasons. He arrives in a village near the Iranian border that closes off completely in winter. The villagers do not trust him, he does not speak their language, and for months no communication is established. The screenplay is by Ferit Edgu and Onat Kutlar, from Edgu's novel O. The film presents the region as neither a folkloric nor a tragic tableau; snow, hunger and distance stand as they are, and the teacher does not become a saviour. The cinematography works almost entirely in natural light. Genco Erkal plays the teacher. The film won four awards at the Berlin Film Festival in 1983, including the Silver Bear Special Jury Prize; in Turkey it could not be screened for five years. Who it's for: those who like social realism and slow narrative in Turkish cinema. Who it's not for: viewers expecting plot; the film is built on almost nothing changing across one winter.