“With only [a handful of] feature films to his credit, Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan has emerged as one of the masters of contemporary cinema. Trained as a photographer, Ceylan has gained international acclaim for intent, observational works which beautifully capture the details of everyday life in exquisitely composed shots. Working in a minimalist style, Ceylan often relies on nonprofessional actors – including members of his own family – to perform in his films, which have been praised for their naturalistic qualities.” – Harvard Film Archive

In anticipation of the UK premiere of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s new film, The Wild Pear Tree, at the London Film Festival, this programme presents the Turkish auteur’s three preceding features.

Uzak
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2002 | 110 min | Colour | 35mm
Turkish with English subtitles

An astute examination of a friendship disintegrating under pressure from time, place and social inequality. A photographer living in Istanbul – once full of lofty artistic ambition, now resigned to an almost cynical pragmatism – agrees to put up a cousin from the remote village he used to call home. read more

Climates
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2006 | 101 min | Colour | 35mm
Turkish with English subtitles

A master of widescreen composition, Ceylan smoothly conjugates vast, craggy landscapes and all-too-intimate domestic interiors in this study of a toxic but stubbornly persistent relationship. read more

Three Monkeys
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2008 | 109 min | Colour | 35mm
Turkish with English subtitles

In the spirit of Buñuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and Haneke’s Caché, Ceylan's noirish drama mounts a caustic critique of a bourgeois family, riddled with hypocrisy yet stubbornly resilient in its seemingly boundless capacity to sidestep guilt and accountability. read more

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2011 | 157 min | Colour | Digital
Turkish with English subtitles

Ceylan captures the dark night of the soul, here encapsulated as a search through the countryside surrounding a small Anatolian village for a missing body. The killer has confessed, but was too drunk to remember where the murder took place. read more

Winter Sleep
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2014 | 196 min | Colour | Digital
Turkish with English subtitles

Winter Sleep blends elements of Ibsen, Dostoyevsky, and Chekhov into a three-part symphony in dialogue. Focusing on the seemingly unbridgeable divisions between classes and generations, Ceylan develops his themes of guilt, responsibility, faith, and spirituality into a family drama with deep implications. read more