FIRST FEATURES, FIRST EXCITEMENTS
DORMITORY
Director: Nehir Tuna
Türkiye, Germany, France / 2023 / Colour and Black & White / 118’ / Turkish; English subtitles
Screenplay: Nehir Tuna
Music: Avi Medina
Cinematography: Florent Herry
Editing: Ayris Alptekin
Cast: Doğa Karakaş, Can Bartu Arslan, Ozan Çelik, Tansu Biçer, Didem Ellialtı, Orhan Güner, Işıltı Su Alyanak, Emrullah Erbay, Erdi Kökerer, Tolga T. Talay, Nazlı Benan
Producer: Tanay Abbasoğlu, Dorothe Beinemeier, Thierry Lenouvel
Production Company: TN Yapım, Red Balloon Film, Ciné-Sud Promotion
World Rights: Pyramide International
Set in the politically polarized atmosphere of late 1990s Turkey, Yurt offers an intimate portrait of 14-year-old Ahmet. Forced by his father to move into a conservative all-boys religious dormitory, Ahmet is torn from the warmth of his family home and thrust into a rigid, oppressive environment. Struggling under the weight of his father’s expectations and the strict rules of the dorm, he finds himself caught between two worlds—school and dormitory—while slowly losing his sense of belonging. Amid this isolation, a bond with Hakan, a rebellious and experienced student, opens a path to freedom and self-discovery. Yurt delicately explores the impact of institutional and familial pressures on a young boy on the brink of adolescence.
Awards
- 2024 İstanbul Golden Tulip Best Film - National Competition, Best Cinematographer
- 2023 Venice Bisato d’Oro Best Screenplay
- 2023 Saint Jean De Luz Best Director, Critics Award
- 2023 Marrakech Best Performance (Doğa Karakaş)
Nehir Tuna
Nehir Tuna is a Turkish screenwriter and director. Tuna is a 2019 Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Fellow and 2018 Nipkow Fellow. He has written and directed various short films, including The Shoes, a prequel to his forthcoming feature.
Tuna is currently in the MFA Graduate Film Program at Columbia University and holds an MFA in directing from Rochester Institute of Technology.