YELLOW LETTERS

GREATER ADRIA

DIRECTOR: İlker Çatak

COUNTRY: DE, TR, FR

YEAR/DURATION: 2026. • 128′

drama

Info

SCREENPLAY: İlker Çatak, Ayda Çatak, Enis Köstepen
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Judith Kaufmann
EDITOR: Gesa Jäger
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Zazie Knepper
COSTUME DESIGN: Christian Röhrs
SCORE: Marvin Miller
CAST: Özgü Namal, Tansu Biçer, Leyla Smyrna Cabas, İpek Bilgin
PRODUCER: Ingo Fliess
PRODUCTION COMPANY: if… Productions (DE)
CO-PRODUCERS:Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Eliott Khayat, Nadir Öperli, Enis Köstepen
CO-PRODUCED BY:Haut et Court (FR), Liman Film (TR)
DISTRIBUTION:Kino Mediteran

Festivals and awards

Berlin International Film Festival 2026 – Golden Bear for Best Film
Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas 2026 – Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas Award

Synopsis

Derya and Aziz, a celebrated artist couple from Ankara, lead a fulfilling life with their 13-year-old daughter Ezgi – until an incident at the premiere of their new play changes everything. Overnight, they find themselves targeted by the state and lose their jobs and their home.

Trailer

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About the director

Ilker Çatak (Berlin, 1984) is a German director and screenwriter. Raised between Germany and Istanbul, he studied film directing in Berlin and at the Hamburg Media School. His award-winning shorts Where We Are (2014) and Fidelity (2014) established him as a major new talent in European cinema. He gained international recognition with features such as Once Upon a Time… Indianerland (2017), I Was, I Am, I Will Be (2019) and Stambul Garden (2021). His acclaimed drama The Teachers’ Lounge (2023) received multiple German film awards and an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature in 2024.