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Gelbe Briefe

Yellow Letters
Competition 2026
© Ella Knorz_ifProductions_Alamode Film
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. They move to Istanbul to temporarily stay with Aziz’s mother. While Aziz ekes out a living with odd jobs and holds on to his convictions, Derya searches for a way to become financially independent. An increasing distance grows between them and their daughter until they are forced to choose between their values ​​and their shared future as a family.

Trailer/Film Excerpt

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by İlker Çatak (Director, Screenplay), Ayda Meryem Çatak (Screenplay), Enis Köstepen (Screenplay)
with Özgü Namal, Tansu Biçer, Leyla Smyrna Cabas, İpek Bilgin Germany / France / Turkey 2026 Turkish 128' Colour World premiere

With

  • Özgü Namal (Derya)
  • Tansu Biçer (Aziz)
  • Leyla Smyrna Cabas (Ezgi)
  • İpek Bilgin (Güngör Hanim)

Crew

Director İlker Çatak
Screenplay İlker Çatak, Ayda Meryem Çatak, Enis Köstepen
Cinematography Judith Kaufmann
Editing Gesa Jäger
Music Marvin Miller
Sound Design Sebastian Tesch, Florian Holzner
Production Design Zazie Knepper
Costumes Christian Röhrs
Make-Up Nica Faas
Casting Ceren Sena Akdeniz
Producer Ingo Fliess
Executive Producer Ingo Fliess
Co-Producers Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Eliott Khayat, Nadir Öperli, Enis Köstepen

Produced by

if… Productions Film GmbH

München, Germany

Co-produced by

Haut et Court

Paris, France

Liman Film

Istanbul, Turkey

World Sales

Be For Films

Paris, France

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

İlker Çatak

© Florian Mag

The director and screenwriter grew up in Berlin and Istanbul and worked for four years on German and international productions before studying film. He has directed over a dozen shorts. His fourth feature film, Das Lehrerzimmer (The Teachers’ Lounge), premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlinale in 2023 and was nominated for the 2024 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. His films, among them Es gilt das gesprochene Wort (I Was, I Am, I Will Be), have received numerous awards.

Filmography

2014 Sadakat (Fidelity) 2017 Es war einmal Indianerland (Once Upon a Time - Indianerland) 2019 Es gilt das gesprochene Wort (I was, I am, I will be) 2021 Räuberhände (Stambul Garden) · Tatort - Borowski und der gute Mensch 2023 Das Lehrerzimmer (The Teachers' Lounge); Berlinale 2023 2025 Gelbe Briefe (Yellow Letters)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026