Kapı is a

Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film released in 2019. The film was directed by Turkish director Nihat Durak, while its script was written by Filiz Üstün Durak. The film starred Turkish actors

Vahide Perçin Vahide Perçin (born 13 June 1965) is a Turkish actress and acting trainer. She was credited for a number of years by her married name Vahide Gördüm, but after divorcing, she went back to her birth name. Early life Perçin was born on 13 Jun ...

and

Kadir İnanır Kadir İnanır (born 15 April 1949) is a Turkish people, Turkish film actor and Film director, director. Biography İnanır was born on 15 April 1949 in Fatsa, a town in Ordu Province, Ordu province of Turkey. In the Turkish movie industry (Ye� ...

, the latter starring as part of his first film appearance after a 7-year hiatus and his last before retirement. Actors Timur Acar,

Erdal Beşikçioğlu Erdal Beşikçioğlu (; born 5 January 1970) is a Turkish actor and politician. He is mayor of the Etimesgut district of Ankara. Biography Erdal Beşikçioğlu is of paternal Laz people, Laz and maternal Albanians, Albanian descent. He is a ma ...

, and

Aybüke Pusat Aybüke Pusat (born 25 February 1995) is a Turkish actress, dancer, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Turkey, Miss Earth Turkey 2014 and was supposed to represent her Turkey, country at the Miss Earth 2014 pageant. Her mate ...

also starred and played leading roles in the film.

Plot

Woodworker Yakup (played by

), as well as his family, are ethnic

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

that migrated from

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He and his wife, Şemsa (played by

) moved abroad due to their son Mikhael being killed by unidentified gunmen 25 years prior, with his body not being found. One day during a birthday celebration, Yakup receives a call, and so the family travel to Mardin alongside their granddaughter Nardin (played by

) from Germany for identification. The film confronts Assyrian history in Turkey and the journey of "returning home" as Yakup finds that the door he made with Mikhael for their old house is missing. The family travels to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

as Yakup's wish is to retrieve the door and his son's legacy.

Cast

as Yakup *

as Şemsa * Timur Acar as Remzi *

as Efrem *

as Nardin *Sermet Yeşil as Sain *Nilay Erdönmez as Asya *Özgün Çoban as Samuel *Reyhan Özdilek as Harran *Engin Yüksel as Ahment *Sinan Helvacı as Musa

Production

The film was shot primarily in Germany, as well as in the districts of

Midyat Midyat (, , , ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,241 km2, and its population is 120,069 (2022). In the modern era, the town is populated by Kurds, Mhallami Arabs and Assyrians. The old Estel neighborho ...

and

Savur Savur (; ; ), meaning “mountain ridge” in Syriac and formerly known as Savor, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 962 km2, and its population is 24,821 (2022). Demographics Accord ...

, specifically in the village of Qelet.

Release

The film premiered in Istanbul in April 2019. The film also had a special premiere event in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

, with İnanır present as well as government officials from Mardin. ''Kapı'' headlined the 19th Frankfurt Turkish Film Festival in 2019, and was broadcast alongside other Turkish films of that year.

Reception

On Beyazperde, a Turkish cinema website, the film currently holds a score of 2.9/5 from press reviews and 3.7/5 from the site's users. During the premiere of the film, many of its actors expressed their satisfaction with the movie, with one of its actors, Menderes Samancılar. stating "I think the project opens the door to pain. The important thing is that it allows us all to look through this gap." The film was received mostly well among audiences, especially the Assyrian community. Kadir İnanır, as a result of his participation in the film, received criticism from both

Turkish nationalists Turkish nationalism () is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish culture, Turkish ...

and Turkish government officials.

Awards

Kapı won the Audience Award at the 2019

Adana Golden Boll Film Festival Adana Golden Boll Film Festival (), known between 2016 and 2018 as International Adana Film Festival (), is a film festival in Adana, Turkey, that was held five times between 1969 and 1974 and every year since 2005. The event is organized by the A ...

References

External links

* * *{{Twitter, kapifilmi
Full film (English subtitles)
Films about Assyrians 2019 drama films Films shot in Berlin 2010s Turkish-language films Films shot in Turkey Turkish drama films