My Sweet Pepper Land(HKAFF 2022)

Kurdish independence war hero Baran moves to a small settlement on the borders of Iran, Turkey and Iraq, where the law holds little sway, and drug and alcohol trafficking are rampant. Immediately Baran comes into conflict with corrupt tribe leader Aga Azzi, who demands Baran’s cooperation in exchange for “protection”. Meanwhile, Baran bonds with the comely Govend, a schoolteacher whose stubborn self-confidence is both a badge of honour and a scarlet letter to the conservative locals. Director Hiner Saleem transposes the Western genre to the Turkish frontiers in this handsome contemporary tale that mixes familiar tropes with modern progressive themes of independence and modernity.