The Encounter (Karşılaşma)

Ömer Kavur directed Karşılaşma (The Encounter), a Turkish-Hungarian drama and thriller of 2003. Running 127 minutes, it follows an unusual search in extraordinary circumstances, told without ornament and with faintly surreal overtones, as Kavur himself described it. It reached Turkish cinemas nationwide on December 26, 2003, and was Kavur's last feature.

The story rests on the meeting of two men who are both seriously ill. Sinan, who lost his son in a motorcycle crash, blames himself for the death, while Mahmut, with a dark past, is barely holding on to life. When a mutual friend is murdered, Sinan is drawn into an inquiry that leads to unexpected links to his own son. Uğur Polat leads as a man starting a new life, joined by Çetin Tekindor, İsmail Hacıoğlu, Aytaç Arman, Necmettin Çobanoğlu and Ani İpekkaya.

Kavur co-wrote the script with Macit Koper and co-produced the film with Sadık Deveci. Critics responded warmly to its carefully worked plot. In 2003 it won 19 awards from four organizations, five of them at the 40th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, including the Golden Orange for Best Film.