Yellow Letters
Directed by Ilker Çatak
2026Feature128 minGermany, France, Turkey
When a celebrated actress and her professor husband are both dismissed by the Turkish state for their ideas, their marriage is tested in exile in Istanbul.
Synopsis
Aziz, a professor at Ankara University, receives a "yellow letter" arbitrarily informing him of his dismissal. When his wife Derya, a famous actress at the national theater, receives one too, it is the final blow for the couple. Both condemned for their ideas, they are forced to seek refuge in Istanbul with Aziz's mother. The compromise between this new precariousness and their political commitment will put their marriage to the test.
The director
Ilker Çatak
Ilker Çatak is a Berlin-born German-Turkish writer-director. His film The Teachers' Lounge (2023) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature. Yellow Letters won the Golden Bear at the 2026 Berlinale, the first for a German director in more than twenty years.
Press
“Yellow Letters wins Golden Bear at Berlin film festival”
“Çatak fashions a film that's both a gripping marital drama and a rallying cry against artist censorship.”
“A story for our times.”
“At its core is the kind of cinema that has long sustained the medium at large: the family drama.”
On screens
- Oct 28 – Nov 8WIFF - Windsor International Film Festival · Windsor, ONTickets ↗
- Nov 20 – Nov 26VIFF Centre · Vancouver, BCTickets ↗
- Nov 20 – Nov 26First Ontario Place Performing Arts Centre/ PAC Film House · St. Catharines, ONTickets ↗
Already played at 2 cinemas in Sudbury, Vancouver, Windsor, St. Catharines.
