Sons of Soil (Toprağın Çocukları)

Sons of Soil is a 2012 Turkish drama directed by Ali Adnan Özgür and produced by its lead actor Erkan Can. The film revisits one of the defining chapters of Turkish educational history: the Village Institutes and the period in which they were shut down.

The story begins when Karika, a young Roma girl, flees an attack on her camp and is rescued by Cevher, a student at the nearby Village Institute. With the support of İsmail Hakkı Tonguç, Cevher gives the orphaned girl shelter inside the institute. This decision provokes strong hostility from the villagers, who pressure the school to expel her. Meanwhile Necip, the local military commander who has long resented the institute's presence, stages a raid and has its principal, Kemal the teacher, detained. The turmoil coincides with the nationwide closure of the institutes; although Kemal's innocence is eventually proven, the fate of the institutions cannot be reversed.

The cast also includes Ufuk Bayraktar, Türkü Turan, Şebnem Sönmez, Menderes Samancılar, Bahtiyar Engin, Müge Boz, Suzan Kardeş and Haluk Cömert.