Ghosts

In an Istanbul neighborhood threatened by gentrification, social and personal conflicts culminate as a nationwide blackout looms. Dancer Didem has just lost her job. Mother Iffet gets involved in a shady deal to support her imprisoned son. Istanbul-born director Azra Deniz Okyay comes from photography and commercials to portray a country in transition, where backward-looking politics hide behind new facades. "Shot with a fluid intimacy by cinematographer Baris Özbiçer, Oyay's film gathers momentum and an increasingly punk energy as it goes, as she shows the rich tapestry of a city that despite its surface problems also has a thriving underground alternative scene." (Eye for Film)