Piano Piano Kid

Tunc Basaran's 1991 film is set in an old mansion in Istanbul at the start of the Second World War. A different family lives in each room; all are poor and all are waiting for something. The events are told through Kemal, a small boy growing up in the house. The film is adapted from Kemal Demirel's memoir, with the screenplay written by Demirel, Basaran and Umit Unal. The war is far away and its effects are everywhere: rationing, blackouts, scarcity and small calculations between neighbours. The child's viewpoint keeps the film from becoming maudlin. Kemal does not fully understand the adults' troubles and the viewer assembles what he misses. It won best director awards in Antalya and Istanbul and was Turkey's submission for the Academy Awards. Who it's for: those who like period films in Turkish cinema and stories with a child narrator. Who it's not for: viewers looking for plot; the film is made of the daily life of one house and stages no large event.