Watchtower (Gözetleme Kulesi)

Dating from 2012, Watchtower (Gözetleme Kulesi) comes from Pelin Esmer, who wrote and directed this Turkish drama. After two documentaries and 11'e 10 Kala, it is her second feature. It was made by Sine Film together with Bredok Film Production of Germany and Arizona Films of France, so it is a three-country co-production. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2012, and reached Turkish cinemas on November 16, 2012, distributed by Tiglon. It runs about 96 minutes.

The story rests on the meeting of two lonely people. Nihat, played by Olgun Şimşek, has taken refuge as a watchman in a fire lookout tower on a deserted forested hill. Seher, played by Nilay Erdönmez, once worked as a bus hostess and has barely managed to settle at a small bus station by the highway in Tosya. Each is running from something different when their paths cross, and they carry on their inner struggle with guilt under each other's eyes. Menderes Samancılar, Rıza Akın, Laçin Ceylan and Kadir Çermik play the boss, father, mother and driver, and Mehmet Bozdoğan also appears.

Filming took place in the Tosya, Şenpazar and Cide districts of Kastamonu. The cinematographer is Özgür Eken and the producers are Nida Karabol Akdeniz and Tolga Esmer.