“Deftly interweaving five contempo vignettes with fairy tale flavors, slick criss-crosser “Istanbul Tales” is both a compulsively watchable entertainment as well as an atmospheric love letter to one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Long-gestated project by writer Umit Unal, who finally shared helming chores with four others … Though the directors basically worked on individual stories, there’s so much overlap between them — on both dramatic and editing levels — and the styles are so undifferentiated that the finished film looks like the work of a single helmer. Unal, who labored over the script for several years, says he finally invited others to share direction simply to give the movie a sustained sense of energy. … Continue reading →

Guven works in an accounting company. He is well liked in the office. He is a hard-working man. He has a happy marriage and a daughter whom he loves more than his own life. At the end of an ordinary workday, Guven leaves the office and goes home. He enters his flat, undresses, washes his face, and sits on the couch in the living room. There is no one else in the flat. Guven’s family life is a huge lie… (Written by Selim Demirdelen) Continue reading →