New Turkish Cinema ─ Belonging, Identity and Memory

Providing a sharp and engaging analysis of the films by internationally acclaimed new wave Turkish directors like Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Zeki Demirkubuz, Yesim Ustaoglu, Dervis Zaim, Serdar Akar, and Yilmaz Erdogan, this is the first full examination of contemporary Turkish cinema to be published in English.

Asuman Suner explores the emergence of the new wave Turkish cinema against the backdrop of the drastic transformation of Turkey since the 1990s. Suner argues that this new cinema, including both commercial and independent productions, persistently returns to the themes of belonging, identity and memory; it is how films address these themes that constitutes a dividing line, with big budget popular films tending to settle contradictions into comforting resolutions, while independent movies demonstrate their paradoxical nature. At the same time, she addresses the divergences between popular and "art" cinema that destabilize the very distinction between these categories.