Wishing Stone (Dilek Taşı) (translated)

Pastel Film made Dilek Taşı (Wishing Stone), a Turkish television drama that began airing on Kanal D on September 7, 2023. It follows an ordinary worker squeezed by poverty, who tries to hold on to his dignity while a single day turns his life upside down. The series lasted one season and signed off with its 20th episode on January 24, 2024.

At its centre is Mustafa, a man in his early thirties who lives in a shanty neighbourhood of Istanbul with his wife Canan and his daughter Cemre. Salih Bademci plays Mustafa, and Hazal Subaşı and Ozan Dolunay are also among the leads. Canan is gravely ill and needs an operation without delay, but the factory where Mustafa works has stood shut for a long time because of a lockout, and he has no money to pay for it. Until then he had never begged anyone for anything and had lived by his honour and pride; now he is cornered, and he goes looking for the factory owner, Mr. Yakup, to demand the wages that have gone unpaid for months. What happens that day will change the lives of both Mustafa and his little daughter Cemre.

The screenplay is by Can Sinan, and the directing duties were shared by Altan Dönmez, Volkan Kocatürk and Osman Taşcı.