''Big Man, Little Love'' ( tr, Büyük Adam Küçük Aşk, ku, Hêjar) is a 2001 international co-production

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, written and directed by Handan İpekçi, about an orphaned Kurdish child and a Turkish pensioner thrown together by circumstance. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , won awards at film festivals in Antalya, Cairo, Cologne and Istanbul, including the Golden Orange for Best Film, and was Turkey's submission to the 74th Academy Awards for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

An orphaned Kurdish child (''Hêjar'') and a Turkish pensioner (''Rıfat'') are thrown together by circumstance. ''Rıfat'', a widowed retired judge, refuses to get involved in politics. He is forced out of his solitude, when ''Hêjar'' the only survivor of a police raid on his Kurdish neighbors, takes refuge at his home. Gradually, he warms up to the kid and decides to reunite her with her family.

Cast

Şükran Güngör Şükran is a Turkish given name. Notable people with the name include: * Şükran Albayrak (born 1982), Turkish TV presenter and former female basketball player * Şükran Moral (born 1962), Turkish female artist {{DEFAULTSORT:Sukran Turki ...

as Rıfat Bey * Dilan Erçetin as Hêjar *

Füsun Demirel Füsun Demirel (born 13 June 1958) is a Turkish actress and interpreter. She played in Gülse Birsel's hit sitcom series Yalan Dünya ''Yalan Dünya'' ''(Fake World)'' is a Turkish TV series produced by Gülse Birsel and directed by Jale Atabe ...

as Sakine * Yıldız Kenter as Müzeyyen Hanım *

İsmail Hakkı Şen Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

as Evdo Emmi

Awards

# Golden Orange & Special Jury Awards (Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor & Actress), Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, 2001. # Silver Pyramid Award,

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year sin ...

, 2002. # Best Screenplay Award,

Cologne Mediterranean Film Festival Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

, 2002. # People's Choice Award, Istanbul International Film Festival, 2003.

External links

*
Hejar, Reviewed by Neil Smith
BBC, Jan. 2003. 2001 drama films 2001 films Turkish drama films Films about race and ethnicity Films set in Turkey Films shot in Turkey Golden Orange Award for Best Film winners Hungarian drama films Greek drama films 2000s Turkish-language films Kurdish-language films {{2000s-drama-film-stub