Signora Enrica (Sinyora Enrica ile İtalyan Olmak)

Ali İlhan wrote and directed Sinyora Enrica ile İtalyan Olmak (Signora Enrica), a Turkish-Italian comedy-drama of 2010. It was shot in Istanbul and in Rimini, Italy, and selected for the 47th International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. It reached Turkish cinemas in February 2011 and runs about 110 minutes; Can Arca and Elvan Arca produced it.

At its centre is Signora Enrica (Claudia Cardinale). Since her husband left her years ago and abandoned their son, she has let no man into her home, and she is known for it. She rents spare rooms to female students, sews on the side and works at a market. One rainy night, because of a misunderstanding, the Turkish student Ekin (İsmail Hacıoğlu) arrives at her door, and for him she breaks the rule she has kept for years. At first unwilling to open her door to a stranger, she opens not only her house but the heart she kept locked. Ekin came to Italy for a language school, and his life changes. Her only son Giovanni (Teoman Kumbaracıbaşı) is troubled because his father left early; his unfair treatment of his mother stirs a protective feeling in Ekin.

Fahriye Evcen plays the young Signora Enrica, Lavinia Longhi plays Valentina, and Levent Can plays Francesco. Orhan Şallıel wrote the music.