The Wheel (Çark) (translated)

Çark (The Wheel) is a 1987 Turkish political film directed by Muzaffer Hiçdurmaz from a screenplay by Bekir Yıldız and Haşmet Zeybek. Focusing on the most unorganized and oppressed segments of the working class, it is regarded as one of the first purely worker-centered films in Turkish cinema. The music was composed by Cahit Berkay and Cem Karaca, and the film was produced by Burak Film.

The story follows four factory workers who, after clashing with their boss at a glass factory over unpaid labor, lose their jobs and move on to a shipyard and finally to the unregulated, unhealthy leather workshops of Kazlıçeşme. When a workplace accident turns fatal, the four friends raise awareness among their fellow workers and launch a strike. Tarık Akan leads a cast that includes Müge Akyamaç, Cezmi Baskın, İhsan Yüce and Kenan Bal. Originally titled 'Direniş' (Resistance), the film was renamed amid the pressures of the post-September 12 coup era; the crew was repeatedly questioned and the film could not be shown in Istanbul for years, later resurfacing at labor film festivals.