Best Turkish documentary movies

Şeytan Üçgeni - I. Barut Kokusu (2024)

North (2015)

Bakur (North) is a documentary that invites its audience to reflect on a war that has been continuing for decades and gives an insightful look on its main subject, the PKK. The film follows the lives of the guerilla in three different camps on the Kurdish region (north) that lies within Turkish borders.

Resistance Is Life (2017)

Eight-year-old Evlin characterizes the resilience of Kobane's resistance against ISIS forces through her experience in a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border.

50 Years of Cyprus (1999)

We have a topic that has always been on the agenda of Turkey and the world, which we have been discussing for nearly 40 years: Cyprus. To foreigners, Cyprus is known as an innocent little island under Turkish invasion. Everyone forgot the bloody events of the past. What about us? Do we know? No. Especially the younger generations, who have come to the point of governing the country today, do not know where this country has gone through regarding Cyprus. However, we are now approaching a road junction in Cyprus. I will tell you the story of Cyprus in this documentary. This is a very bloody and sometimes very sad story...

Meteors (2017)

Tension has long simmered between Turkish soldiers and Kurdish separatists in southeastern Anatolia and, in 2015, the conflict escalated into a military lockdown.  Given the lack of media coverage, locals began filming the empty streets in single-take, one-hour clips which were posted to the internet and then vanished.  Coinciding with this event is the falling of the Leonids, a spectacular meteor shower which emblazons the black skies with impermanent light. 

Gulyabani (2018)

Gulyabani is an entity, a ghoul, an outsider. She’s the restless spirit of a desolate and lonely place. Fethiye Sessiz, a notorious clairvoyant from Izmir in 1970s and 1980s, remembers fractions of her survival from abuse, kidnappings and violence. Recounting the events of her childhood through her diary and letters to her estranged son, Gulyabani recollects the emotional landscape in the most violent period of post-Republic Turkey, where the memory of the future and fragments of the past come together at once.

Blue (2017)

A thorough look at the 90's Turkish rock scene, one legendary stage band and its two members: Kerim Capli and Yavuz Cetin... An inquiry of their existential battles with the society, the industry and their own minds.

Black, Not Gray: Ankara Rocks! (2017)

The story of the rock and metal music scene in the '80s and '90s in Ankara, the capital of Turkey -- the city which is deemed to be 'gray', considered as 'lifeless', 'soulless' and 'dull', and labeled as a 'city of politics' -- and a band's attempts to get out of it despite their love of their hometown.

Anatolian Trip (2018)

Eager in spirit for a better world, an amateur rock band from bohemian Istanbul embarks on an impromptu tour to mainland Turkey, in hopes of sharing their music and love with fellow countrymen.

Becoming Duru (2021)

An unorthodox music documentary about the marginal diva Nükhet Duru from the perspective of Turkish musicians. Her fame transcended borders when The Weeknd sampled her song in his platinum hit "Often". A journey is taken across Istanbul along with the creative process behind Duru's new album "Hikayesi Var" which comprises her interpreting her own classics together with young generation of musicians Sıla, Kenan Doğulu, Teoman, Mabel Matiz, Funda Arar, Ceylan Ertem, Ata Demirer, Kalben, Zeynep Bastık, Rubato, Sena Şener ve Evrencan Gündüz.

Blue Extra (2021)

Sarı Zeybek (1993)

From the famous Turkish journalist, Can Dündar narrates the last 300 days of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The documentary features the stories and mails from the friends of Atatürk who is the founder of Turkish Republic and also led the Turkish army in the Turkish War of Independence

The Hittites: A Civilization that Changed the World (2003)

This is the glorious story of the Hittites - the most powerful people in the Near East of their time. Narrated by Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons, "The Hittites" brings the fascinating history of this mighty empire to life with expert interviews, stunning cinematography, dramatic reenactments, and visual effects. Highlights include a breathtaking recreation of the controversial battle of Kadesh that decimated the armies of Egypt's Pharaoh Ramesses II. Based on the actual words of the Hittites, deciphered from ancient clay tablets excavated in the 20th century, their story unfolds as beautifully as it written almost 3500 years earlier.

Son Buluşma (2008)

Dadaşlar Belgeseli (2025)

12 September: Clash of Colors (1998)

Turkish democracy got over the 27th of May and the 12th of March and set off again, but the storm did not subside and the mutual reckoning was not over. On the contrary, new fronts were opened in the country and blood began to flow like a gutter. Finally, on September 12, there was a knock on the door again. Those who came that day changed everything, everything. Nothing would ever be the same again, nothing would be the same as before.

12 September: Back to Democracy (1998)

Turkish democracy got over the 27th of May and the 12th of March and set off again, but the storm did not subside and the mutual reckoning was not over. On the contrary, new fronts were opened in the country and blood began to flow like a gutter. Finally, on September 12, there was a knock on the door again. Those who came that day changed everything, everything. Nothing would ever be the same again, nothing would be the same as before.

12 September: The Massacres Begin (1998)

Turkish democracy got over the 27th of May and the 12th of March and set off again, but the storm did not subside and the mutual reckoning was not over. On the contrary, new fronts were opened in the country and blood began to flow like a gutter. Finally, on September 12, there was a knock on the door again. Those who came that day changed everything, everything. Nothing would ever be the same again, nothing would be the same as before.

12 September: Footsteps of Coup (1998)

Turkish democracy got over the 27th of May and the 12th of March and set off again, but the storm did not subside and the mutual reckoning was not over. On the contrary, new fronts were opened in the country and blood began to flow like a gutter. Finally, on September 12, there was a knock on the door again. Those who came that day changed everything, everything. Nothing would ever be the same again, nothing would be the same as before.

12 September: "What Days Bring That Day..." (1998)

Turkish democracy got over the 27th of May and the 12th of March and set off again, but the storm did not subside and the mutual reckoning was not over. On the contrary, new fronts were opened in the country and blood began to flow like a gutter. Finally, on September 12, there was a knock on the door again. Those who came that day changed everything, everything. Nothing would ever be the same again, nothing would be the same as before.

12 September: On the Brink of the Abyss (1998)

Turkish democracy got over the 27th of May and the 12th of March and set off again, but the storm did not subside and the mutual reckoning was not over. On the contrary, new fronts were opened in the country and blood began to flow like a gutter. Finally, on September 12, there was a knock on the door again. Those who came that day changed everything, everything. Nothing would ever be the same again, nothing would be the same as before.

September 12: From Cyprus to Frontline (1998)

Turkish democracy got over the 27th of May and the 12th of March and set off again, but the storm did not subside and the mutual reckoning was not over. On the contrary, new fronts were opened in the country and blood began to flow like a gutter. Finally, on September 12, there was a knock on the door again. Those who came that day changed everything, everything. Nothing would ever be the same again, nothing would be the same as before.

12 September: Coup Diary (1998)

Turkish democracy got over May 27 and March 12 and set off again, but the storm did not subside, and the mutual reckoning was not over. On the contrary, new fronts were opened in the country and blood began to flow like a gutter. Finally, on September 12, there was a knock on the door again. Those who came that day changed everything, everything. Nothing will ever be the same again

Years with Özal: January 24 (2000)

While we were wandering through the pages of our democracy history, we saw right-left fights and experienced revolutions. Blood was shed, scaffolds were set up, but they could never change the country's path. When we came to the 1980s, a person came out and shook the system to its roots and changed the world of people. According to some, this was a great revolution, according to others, it was the wear and tear of some values. Regardless, this person left his mark on a period of Turkey.

Kedi (2017)

A profile of Istanbul and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.

Stray (2021)

Experience the bustle of Istanbul street life through the eyes of three stray dogs – Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal.

I'm Glad I Did (2020)

Metin Akpınar has not been on the theater stage since 1992. In addition to TV series and movies, new generations were able to meet him with Devekuşu Kabare's six plays that could be recorded. As if it was written today, those who watched had a taste of his unique acting in current plays. It was an acting that accompanied his talent and his intellectual background. "I'm Glad I Did", when transferring through the years Metin Akpinar he brought his own narrative, on the other hand, offers a different approach to Turkey's recent history, leaving an archive for the future by refreshing memory.

On the Way to School (2008)

One year in the life of a Turkish teacher, teaching the Turkish language to Kurdish children in a remote village in Turkey. The children can't speak Turkish, the teacher can't speak Kurdish and is forced to become an exile in his own country. On the Way to School is a film about a Turkish teacher who is alone in a village as an authority of the state, and about his interaction with the Kurdish children who have to learn Turkish. The film witnesses the communication problem emphasizing the loneliness of a teacher in a different community and culture; and the changes brought up by his presence into this different community during one year. The film chronicles one school year, starting from September 2007 until the departure of the teacher for summer holiday in June 2008. During this period, they begin to know and understand each other mutually and slowly.

Ecumenopolis: City Without Limits (2011)

Ecumenopolis: City Without Limits" tells the story of Istanbul and other Mega-Cities on a neo-liberal course to destruction. It follows the story of a migrant family from the demolition of their neighborhood to their on-going struggle for housing rights. The film takes a look at the city on a macro level and through the eyes of experts, going from the tops of mushrooming skyscrapers to the depths of the railway tunnel under the Bosphorous strait; from the historic neighborhoods in the south to the forests in the north; from isolated islands of poverty to the villas of the rich. It's an Istanbul going from 15 million to 30 million. It's an Istanbul going from 2 million cars to 8 million. It's the Istanbul of the future that will soon engulf the entire region. It's an Istanbul nobody has ever seen before.

Kırmızı Hap Bölüm 1 - "Ateistleri Anlamak" (2015)