Steppe

  • Archive - Festival 36
  • Director: Ali Özel
  • Turkey 2019
  • 89 minutes
  • Turkish
  • Subtitles in Hebrew

Ahmet’s village is condemned to make way for a dam, but Ahmet refused to move. The world of the elderly recluse revolves around his home, and his wife is buried in the garden. His nephews, desperate for a solution, ask his estranged son, Harun, for help. Time runs out, the rain continues to fall, and father and son must find a way to put right the mistakes of the past and work together.

The feature debut Ali Özel won eleven awards at the Antalya Festival, including the Best Film Award. Özel presents a gentle and moving drama about death, guilt and family with very fine acting.

Feature Debut


  • Director Ali Özel
  • Production Ali Özel
  • Script Ali Özel
  • Cinematography Ümit Çakmaksoy
  • Editing Yakup Inanli, Ali Özel, Mahmut Aran
  • Music Hüseyin Özel
  • Festivals Antalya (Best Film, Best First Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Turkish Film Critics Association Award), Göteborg
  • Actors Ahmet Özel, Hakan Emre Ünal, Mücahit Koçak, Ozan Dağara, Elif Aydın
  • Source ReCinema, Turkey