Biyograficim
Selam

Hi (Selam) (translated)

Movie · 2013 · 5 people

Levent Demirkale directed the Turkish drama Selam, released on 29 March 2013. Inspired by true events, it follows three teachers who leave their families for education's sake and head to three continents. Shot in Türkiye, Afghanistan, Senegal and Bosnia-Herzegovina, it has been described as the only Turkish film shot on three continents. Produced by Neyir Film and distributed by Warner Bros., it reached DVD in summer 2013.

The story traces the three teachers' paths. Adem (Hasan Nihat Sütçü) leaves his pregnant wife to carry a warm greeting and friendship to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Zehra (Burçin Abdullah), burying her love for Harun, heads to war-shadowed Afghanistan to help its children. Harun (Yunus Emre Yıldırımer) sets his past aside and goes to impoverished Senegal, a former colony, to be a light in the dark. Their paths cross now and then but mostly lie thousands of kilometres apart. Fatma Karanfil (Hacer), Emre Karakoç (Samet), Canan Uzun (Zeynep), Selma Alispahic and Miraj Grbić also appear.

Necati Şahin wrote the screenplay. Haluk Örgün and Eyüp Sabri Koç produced, Aydın İz and Selim Akgül shot it and Yücel Arzen wrote the music. Besides Turkish, French and Pashto are spoken. The film runs about 104 minutes and drew middling audience ratings.

DirectorLevent Demirkale
Production companyWarner Bros.
Hi (Selam) Hi (Selam) Hi (Selam)

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Cast

Burçin Abdullah Burçin Abdullah Actor · 39 years old Fatma Karanfil Actor · died at 72 Yunus Emre Yıldırımer Yunus Emre Yıldırımer Actor · 44 years old Selma Alispahić Selma Alispahić Actor · 56 years old Miraj Grbić Miraj Grbić Actor · 50 years old

Through different eyes

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Inspired by true events, Selam follows three teachers who leave their families behind for the ideal of education and head to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Afghanistan and Senegal. The choice of places is telling: a Balkan country, an Afghanistan in the shadow of war, and Senegal, a former colony. Because the story is built from the teachers' point of view, it runs the risk of pushing the local communities' own perspective into the background. Hearing French and Pashto alongside Turkish gives a welcome sense of a multilingual world. Its emphasis on sacrifice brings it close to the tone of a promotional film at times; still, it is of interest to anyone curious about teaching in distant places.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Selam's biggest ambition is its scale of production: a story spread across three continents, shot in Türkiye, Afghanistan, Senegal and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Aydın İz and Selim Akgül's cinematography gives these places a real sense of breadth. But running three separate storylines in parallel leaves too little room for each character to deepen; though the paths cross now and then, the strands struggle to become a whole that feeds itself. Necati Şahin's script seems to keep pushing the theme of sacrifice to the front, and that weakens the dramatic tension. At 104 minutes the film feels both crowded and cramped for three stories. Well-meaning and visually ambitious, but dramaturgically scattered.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

A film about idealistic teachers that encourages good feelings. It gives children good messages about sacrifice, helping one another and getting to know people in other countries. But Afghanistan in the shadow of war and poverty are part of the story, and some parts may be heavy for small children. At 104 minutes it may also be long for them. Suitable to watch with middle-school children and the grandparents.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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