Ozan Bilen

Camaraderie and fleeting joys soften harsh realities in Don’t Let Them Shoot the Kite, which reemerges as a Turkish classic in this fresh 4K restoration. Capturing the profound resilience of its characters through a child’s tender gaze, Tunç Başaran’s prizewinner is a testament to enduring spirit.

Kader (Destiny) tells the story of the younger years of two characters we met in Masumiyet (Innocence, 1997), the director’s second film. Bekir falls in love with Ugur. Ugur is in love with Zagor, who can’t seem to stay away from trouble. Zagor is arrested after getting involved in the murder of two police officers. Initially, this event gives some hope to Bekir, but it turns out to be the beginning of an incurable illness in the pursuit of merciless love that would last for years. As Bekir follows Ugur like a stubborn dog in run-down hotels, marijuana parties and seedy nightclubs, love grows with pain, poverty, tears and evil.