Men on the Bridge (Köprüdekiler)

Men on the Bridge (Köprüdekiler) is a 2009 Turkish-German co-production drama directed by Aslı Özge. The film follows three men who live in Istanbul's suburbs but earn their living in the city center: Fikret, who illegally sells roses in the congested traffic of the Bosphorus Bridge while searching for steadier work; Umut, a minibus driver on the Taksim-Bostancı route who looks for a better home to please his wife Cemile; and Murat, a newly assigned traffic policeman on the bridge who battles his loneliness by seeking a girlfriend online. Unaware of one another, their lives and dreams intersect every day on the bridge.

The film stars Fikret Portakal, Murat Tokgöz and Umut İlker. It premiered at the 28th Istanbul International Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Turkish Film of the Year, went on to take Best Film at the Golden Cocoon (Altın Koza) festival, and screened at Locarno and London. It opened in Turkish cinemas on 19 March 2010.