Sibel
A modern-day Cinderella story of female empowerment told against the backdrop of Turkey’s gorgeous Black Sea region.
A young mute woman living as an outcast in a remote, superstitious mountain village finds her true voice when she comes to the aid of a mysterious injured fugitive, in this poetic fairy tale-inspired film from Franco-Turkish directing duo Guillaume Giovanetti and Çagla Zencirci.
Sibel lives with her family in a remote mountain village. A hard worker, she seems constantly on the move, cooking, chopping wood, trimming bushes, and picking crops. She knows her way around a rifle and is determined to slay a wolf that has been spotted prowling the woods. Mute since the age of five, Sibel is a pariah among the women in her community who are superstitious and regard her as bad luck. But she maintains friendship with elderly local eccentric, Narin, and with her father, Emin, the village mayor, with whom she communicates via an ancient whistled argot that few still understand.
Sibel’s routine is interrupted by the arrival of Ali, an alluring, wounded fugitive. She endeavours to provide care and safe harbour to Ali, which will inevitably steer her toward a confrontation with her father. It will also steer her toward a path of self-actualization. (source: www.tiff.net)