Political Drama ‘Yellow Letters’ Wins Top Prize at Berlin Film Festival

Ilker Catak’s "Yellow Letters" won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. The German director’s political drama follows a theater actress and an academic in contemporary Turkey who are stripped of their livelihoods for their views and must make increasingly fraught choices to support themselves and their daughter.

Shot entirely in Germany, the film uses an undisguised Berlin as a stand-in for Ankara and Hamburg for Istanbul; Catak’s previous film, "The Teachers’ Lounge," was nominated for the Oscar for best international feature in 2024.

Germany, Berlin

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