Egg (2007) + Milk (2008) + Honey (2010)

Semih Kaplanoǧlu is today a pillar of the recent revival of Turkish cinema, its "second wave" as some call it. Together with Nuri Bılge Ceylan (Distant) and the younger German-Turkish Fatih Akın (Head On), Kaplanoǧlu has helped to propel the cinema of his country to the forefront of film's creative ferment. Kaplanoǧlu's position has been reinforced by his Yusuf Trilogy (2007-2010), the latest instalment of which, Honey, was awarded the Golden Bear at the 2010 Berlinale. Even before this, the director was a familiar face at international festivals - his Yusuf trilogy having garnered over a dozen of festival prizes and awards….

Kaplanoglu intended to run the trilogy in the reverse chronological order. He explained this decision of his thus: “What I’m looking at here is a longish cinematographic flash-back. All three films take place in the present. I hope in this way to narrate the burden and pain of passing time and invite everyone to remember and think about his own life. We all have mothers and it is highly possible that much is hidden during the time we spend with our mothers, and the time we are no longer able to spend with them”.




Director: Semih Kaplanoglu
Writers: Semih Kaplanoglu, Orçun Köksal
Stars: Bora Altas, Erdal Besikçioglu, Tülin Özen

The young boy Yusuf's best friend is his father, who supports his family's modest life with the honey he collects from tall trees in the forests of the remote Turkish countryside. Yusuf is a quiet boy, and his mother is concerned for his future. Perhaps he will follow in his father's footsteps, or perhaps school will offer him other opportunities. But the honey crop is failing, and Yusuf has trouble learning how to read. The greatest fear strikes when Yusuf's father doesn't return home from the forest.






Director: Semih Kaplanoglu
Writers: Semih Kaplanoglu (screenplay), Orçun Köksal (screenplay)
Stars: Melih Selcuk, Basak Köklükaya, Riza Akin

A high school graduate, Yusuf could not pass the university entrance exam. Writing poetry is his greatest passion and some of his poems are being printed in various obscure literary journals. But neither these poems, nor the rapidly falling price of the milk they sell, are being of any benefit to Yusuf and Zehra's lives. When Yusuf finds out about Zehra's secret affair with the town's stationmaster he gets disconcerted. Will he find the way to cope with his anxiety for the unknown future, the rapid change that he is going through and the pain of taking a step into adulthood and leaving his youth behind?






Director: Semih Kaplanoglu
Writers: Semih Kaplanoglu, Orçun Köksal
Stars: Nejat Isler, Saadet Aksoy, Ufuk Bayraktar

When the elderly mother of a poet passes away and the man returns home to say his last goodbyes, his attempt to fulfill her last wish hits an unexpected snag in director Semih Kaplanoglu's quiet drama. It's been years since Yusuf moved from the village in which he was raised, and visits back home have been few and far between. For the last five years, Ayla has been caring for Yusuf's ailing mother. Now, upon returning to his decrepit family home, Yusuf is charged with the task of performing a sacrificial rite that his mother could not complete before she died. In the following days Yusuf and Ayla will set out on a long journey to the saint's tomb. On the way, however, the unfamiliar pair is obligated to spend a night in a rural hotel in which a wedding party is currently underway. It doesn't take long for Yusuf and Ayla to become swept up in the festive atmosphere, and in the process a warm bond is formed.

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