Early Winter
Turkey
|
2025
|
Color
|
91
Early Winter tells the story of the difficult three-day journey undertaken by Ferhat, Lia, and their young daughter, Ada, from Istanbul to the Georgian border, after becoming entangled in an illegal surrogacy agreement. All this against the persistent backdrop of the war in Ukraine, which intrudes through radio news. While Lia carries the pain of having to leave little Ada behind, Ferhat grapples with the tension in his relationship with his wife, Handan; the detachment from his own roots, which, paradoxically, he will revisit during the journey; and the increasing pressures of his professional life. Gradually, what began as a journey of farewell transforms into a desperate flight forward, where every kilometer traveled seems to distance them from both the past and any possible redemption.
Technical Details
Direction:
Özcan Alper
Cinematography:
Yagiz Yavru
Language:
Turkish
Production:
Soner Alper, Emre Oskay
Sound:
Mürsel Aslan
Subtitles:
Spanish and English
Screenplay:
Özcan Alper, Ugur Aydedim
Editing:
Ismet Araç
Cast:
Timuçin Esen, Leyla Tanlar
Director
Özcan Alper
Özcan Alper is a director and screenwriter, a prominent voice in contemporary Turkish cinema. His first film, Sonbahar (2008), screened at over 60 international festivals and won nearly 40 awards, in addition to being nominated for the European Discovery Award by the European Film Academy. With his second feature film, Gelecek Uzun Sürer (2011), he solidified his international presence, premiering at the 36th Toronto International Film Festival. Later, his third work, Rüzgârın Hatıraları (2015), received support from key initiatives such as L'Atelier de la Cinéfondation at the Cannes Film Festival and the Hubert Bals Fund at the Rotterdam Film Festival, reaffirming his position as a filmmaker committed to stories with strong human impact and historical memory.
