On Board (Gemide)

Gemide (On Board) is a 1998 Turkish drama film directed by Serdar Akar. The screenplay was written by Serdar Akar and Önder Çakar, and the music was composed by Uğur Yücel. Set in Istanbul, the film offers a harsh critique of Turkish social inequalities through the story of a four-person crew on a sand barge.

The story begins when the Boxer, disembarking from the ship at anchor, claims his money has been stolen. The crew, led by the captain, goes into town, attacks a group of people, and abducts a Romanian woman, taking her back to the ship. From that moment on, the four men are drawn into an increasingly dark, inescapable vortex of violence and guilt.

The film, starring Erkan Can as the Captain, also features Naci Taşdöğen, Yıldıray Şahinler, Haldun Boysan, Güven Kıraç, and Cengiz Küçükayvaz. The production won numerous awards at the Golden Orange and Orhon Murat Arıburnu Film Festivals in the best director and best actor categories, and was one of the rare Turkish films selected for the Critics' Week section of the Cannes Film Festival.