The highly anticipated new film by acclaimed director Emin Alper, Salvation (Kurtuluş), has been selected for the Main Competition of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival. The film will have its world premiere in Berlin and marks the first Turkish production to be invited to the Main Competition in seven years, following Alper’s A Tale of Three Sisters (Kız Kardeşler), which also competed in the same section in 2019.
Written and directed by Emin Alper, Salvation is the filmmaker’s fifth feature-length film. It will screen at the festival, taking place from February 12–22, where it will compete for the Golden Bear before the jury chaired by renowned director Wim Wenders. The cast includes Caner Cindoruk, Berkay Ateş, Feyyaz Duman, Naz Göktan, Özlem Taş, Eren Demir, Selim Akgül, Hichi Demi, and Nazmi Karaman.
Centered on a land dispute between the Hazeran clan of village guards and the Bezari community, who return to the village they were forced to abandon years earlier, the film portrays a tense struggle for power fueled by ominous dreams. Salvation tells the story of a village drawn in by the promise of “salvation,” unfolding within an atmosphere of growing unease.
Produced by Liman Film, Liberation is a co-production with Bir Film, Meltem Films, TS Productions, Circe Films, Horsefly Films, and Second Land. Cinematography is by Ahmet Sesigürgil and Barış Aygen, with music composed by Christiaan Verbeek. Production design is by Nadide Argun Van Uden, and editing by Özcan Vardar. The film was shot in Kırkat village in Batman and in Kıllit (Dereiçi) village in Mardin. Editing took place at İstanbul İmaj Studios, while image post-production was handled by Two Thirty Five (Greece) and Digital District (France), and sound post-production by Posta (Netherlands).
World sales are handled by Paris-based Lucky Number, while Turkish distribution is undertaken by Bir Film.
