US Edition‘Yellow Letters’ Review: Germany Plays Turkey in a Stirring and Surprising Political Drama
Yellow Letters portrays a couple's job loss under authoritarian repression, showing political persecution's impact on family and social ties in a film set in Turkey but shot in Germany.
- Ilker Çatak's Yellow Letters is playing in competition at this year's Berlinale, starring Özgü Namal and Tansu Biçer as an artists' couple persecuted for their views.
- Drawing on mass layoffs he heard in Istanbul, Çatak shaped the film using family research and shot it entirely in Germany, relying on German funders to preserve creative freedom while condemning Turkey's regime.
- Using its titular 'yellow letters,' the film shows Derya's onstage snub of an older government official triggering legal notices and Aziz's administrative leave and kangaroo court trial.
- Pushed from their home, the family unit moves into Aziz's mother Öpek Bilgin's apartment, creating cramped conditions and fraying social bonds under political persecution.
- Its premiere amid Berlinale debate over festival politics, with locations labeled 'Berlin is Ankara' and 'Hamburg is Istanbul,' creates an allegorical world resonating with current discussions, as Berlinale jury president Wim Wenders received pushback for remarks on politics.
12 Articles
12 Articles
His film "Das Lehrerzimmer" led director İlker Çatak from the Berlinale directly to the Oscars. With his new work "Gelbe Briefe" he gets lost.
İlker Çatak tells the story of a Turkish artist couple threatened by Erdoğan's government in Gelbe Briefe. The director wants the film to start in Turkey as well – and at the same time cares about the consequences for his actors.
‘Yellow Letters’ Review: A Turkish Artist Couple Fractures but Never Falls Apart in ‘Teachers’ Lounge’ Director’s Politically Vexed Latest
'The Teachers' Lounge' filmmaker İlker Çatak's followup 'Yellow Letters' is a politically charged portrait of artists in Turkey. Review.
‘Yellow Letters’ Review: ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ Director Delivers a Modern-Day Political Parable That’s Strongly Acted but Hampered by Vagueness
Oscar-nominated director Ilker Çatak returns to the Berlinale with 'Yellow Letters,' a family drama set in Turkey but shot entirely in Germany.
Strong German contribution in the competition: İlker Çatak brings a Turkish drama with a touch to Germany in "Gelbe Briefe".
‘Yellow Letters’ Director İlker Çatak on Political Repression of Artists: ‘You Have It in the U.S. Too. Look at What Happened to Jimmy Kimmel!’
İlker Çatak, who was born in Berlin to Turkish parents, is back at the Berlinale with “Yellow Letters,” which unlike his last film — the Oscar-nominated Germany-set “The Teachers’ Lounge” — takes place entirely amid political repression in Turkey, even though it was shot in Germany. The timely political drama stars Turkish actors Özgü Namal (Derya) and Tansu Biçer (Aziz) as an artists’ couple whose marriage implodes after they lose their jobs …
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