SYNOPSIS
Near a lonely highway pretty Zehra and handsome Olgun spend most of their youth working in a service station cafeteria with monotonous work shifts, broken up only by sparks of naive expectations of a brighter future. The once important industrial area is now a faceless place of economic waste and unemployment. This has caused most of the area's occupants to escape to the big cities. But Zehra, Olgun and their friends still remain, caught somewhere in between the past and an uncertain future, with dreams and hopes. An older truck driver named Mahur fascinates Zehra, though this turns into a tragic first love. Olgun, still a young man, will experience a bittersweet rite of passage, leading to both suffering and awakening. But as Zehra and Olgun say goodbye to their childhood innocence, love and hope will help them to move forward.
Awards
Black Pearl Award | Abu Dhabi IFF, UAE, 2018
Best Actress | Tokyo IFF, Japan, 2012
Bulgarian Guild of Film Critics Award | Sofia IFF, Bulgaria, 2013
Amakourou prize | Mooov FF, Belgium, 2013
Winner of Hook of the Festival | Split Mediterranean IFF, Croatia, 2013
CAST & CREW

Yeşim Ustaoğlu
Director
Producer(s)
Yeşim Ustaoğlu
Script
Yeşim Ustaoğlu
Director of Photography
Michael Hammon
Production designer
Osman Özcan
Music by
Marc Marder
Sound
Bruno Tarrière
Edit
Mathilde Muyard, Svetolik Mica Zajc, Naim Kanat
Cast
Özcan Deniz, Neslihan Atagül, Barıs Hacıhan, Ilgaz Kocatürk, Nihal Yalçın
Production company(ies)
Ustaoglu Film (Turkey), CDP 25, The Match Factory
Yeşim Ustaoğlu
Born, 1960, Çaykara, Turkey. After making several award-winning shorts, Yesim Ustaoglu made her feature film debut in 1994 with The Trace. She received international recognition for her film, Journey to the Sun. In competition at the Berlin IFF in 1999, it received the Blue Angel Award (Best European Film) and the Peace Prize and other prizes at Istanbul IFF. Her third film, Waiting for the Clouds, was awarded NHK Sundance - International Filmmaker's Award.
Filmography
To Catch a Moment (1984, short), Magnafantagna (1989, short), Duet (1990, short), Hotel (1992, short), The Trace (1994), Journey to the Sun (1999), Waiting for the Clouds (2003), Life on Their Shoulders (2004), Pandora’s Box (2008), Araf – Somewhere in-Between (2012).