MUBI co-production What Remains (Artakalan), written and directed by acclaimed Turkish filmmaker Yeşim Ustaoğlu, is set to make its world premiere at the 74th San Sebastián International Film Festival.
With the film, Ustaoğlu returns to the festival nearly two decades after winning the Golden Shell for Pandora’s Box.
Starring Öykü Karayel and Metin Akdülger, the cast also includes İlyas Salman and Ali Kayra Kul. What Remains follows Elif, a poet who begins to lose both her creative spark and her joy for life before embarking on a transformative journey in search of the possibility of a different existence. The film features an original score by Şevket Akıncı, while poems by Birhan Keskin accompany Elif’s deeply personal journey. A first-look image from the film has also been released.
Yeşim Ustaoğlu: “A journey that lets us experience freedom and unconditional love”
Describing What Remains, Yeşim Ustaoğlu said:
“What Remains is the story of a journey that emerges from a life in which we feel trapped, almost to the point of losing our appetite for living and our creative inspiration. It is a journey that allows us to experience freedom, simplicity, seeing, hearing, touching, and the meaning of unconditional love. I embarked on this journey together with Birhan Keskin, Şevket Akıncı, Öykü Karayel, Metin Akdülger, Ali Kayra Kul, and my entire team.
I looked, I saw, I heard, I touched… Returning to San Sebastián nearly 20 years after Pandora’s Box left the festival with an award alongside the beloved Tsilla Chelton is incredibly exciting. Now it is What Remains‘ turn to begin its own journey, to discover the impact it will have on audiences, and to meet film lovers in Türkiye.”
A MUBI co-production. Coming soon.
