Dormitory

Yurt

TIFF65: Greek Premiere
1997: the tensions between religious and secular Turks are increasing. Fourteen-year-old Ahmet is sent by his recently converted father to an Islamic dormitory, a “yurt,” to learn Muslim values. Ahmet works hard to be the perfect son, but he has trouble fitting in with rough kids at the Yurt, and feels isolated in his day secular school, where he hides his new home from his classmates. His only solace is a new friend Hakan, a street-smart kid who knows how to work the Yurt system. Together they dream of making their own decisions. Drawing from the filmmaker’s personal memories, this striking debut combines social commentary and original visual aesthetics to tackle complex stories of masculinity, conservatism, responsibility, and revolt – issues endemic to the Eastern Mediterranean and resonant with the entire modern world.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Nehir Tuna
Script: Nehir Tuna
Cinematography: Florent Herry
Editing: Ayris Alptekin
Sound: Simone Weber
Music: Avi Medina
Actors: Doğa Karakaş, Can Bartu Arslan, Ozan Çelik, Tansu Biçer, Didem Ellialtı, Orhan Güner, Işilti Su Alyanak
Production: TN Yapım, Red Balloon Film
Producers: Tanay Abbasoğlu, Dorothe Beinemeier, Thierry Lenouvel
Co-production: Cine-Sud Promotion
Co-producers: Nehir Tuna, Didem Ellialtı, Cenk Tuncel, Selin Erdem, Tolga T. Talay, Ozan Bilen, Gökalp Köseoğlu, Bahadır Özçetin, Ragıp Ergün
Costumes: Didem Ellialtı
Production Design: Vahhap Ayhan
Format: DCP
Color: Color, B/W
Production Country: Türkiye, Germany, France
Production Year: 2023
Duration: 118'
Contact: Pyramide International
Awards/Distinctions: Best Screenplay – Venice IFF 2023, Golden Sun – Cinedays Skopje FF 2024, Grand Jury Prize – Annonay IF of First Films 2024, Best Film, Audience Award – Accessible FF 2024, Grand Prix – Omladinski FF Sarajevo 2024, Prix SFCC, Best Direction – Saint-Jean-de-Luz IFF 2024, Golden Tulip, Best Director of Photography – Istanbul FF 2024, Golden Slipper – Zlín IFF for Children and Youth 2024, Best Actor – Marrakech IFF 2023
Crossroads Co-production Forum 2016

Nehir Tuna

Nehir Tuna’s work combines social commentary and an original visual aesthetic, tackling stories on Turkey’s complex present-day issues, be it masculinity or conservatism. A Sundance Alumnus, Tuna was selected to take part in the 2019 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the 2020 Directors and Screenwriters Lab. He participated in the 2018 Nipkow Film Residency program. He has written and directed seven short films, including The Shoes, a prequel to Dormitory. Tuna studied at Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program and holds an MFA in directing from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Filmography

2007 Virgin Island (short)
2010 Mary's Bathroom Camp (short)
2012 Grandpas Know Best (short)
2015 Hemorrhoid (short)
2018 The Shoes (short)
2023 Dormitory