Lady Ayhan (Ayhan Hanım) (translated)

Ayhan Hanım ("Lady Ayhan") is the second feature film by director Levent Semerci, who had a notable box-office hit with his first, Nefes: Vatan Sağolsun. This time he tells a story of September 12. Filming began in 2011 and the film reached cinemas in 2014. A political and historical drama with thriller and experimental touches, it runs about 117 minutes. Semerci also wrote the screenplay, shot the film and co-edited it.

The film deals with the drama of one family during the period of the September 12, 1980, coup, which left its mark on recent Turkish history. The title character (Vahide Perçin) is a plain housewife with no interest in politics, married to a retired non-commissioned officer, and the mother of four sons. The story opens in the chaotic days of 1977. Ayhan Hanım, her husband Ahmet Bey and the youngest son keep away from the political confusion, while the other three sons are young men in the middle of it. With the military coup of September 12, 1980, the family starts to break apart.

The cast also includes Selçuk Yöntem (the father), Gürkan Günal (Levidi), Turhan Kaya (the commissioner), Açelya Özcan (the nurse) and Burç Kümbetlioğlu. The music is by Fırat Yükselir and Ayşe Önder. A Taksim Square set was built in Eskişehir for the shoot.