Turkish Passion (La pasión turca) (translated)

Antonio Gala’s widely read 1993 novel of the same name is the source of La pasión turca (The Turkish Passion), a 1994 Spanish erotic drama. Director Vicente Aranda wrote the screenplay together with Gala. Some describe it as an exploration of female sexual desire; the controversial film continues Aranda’s fascination with the dark side of love. Mario Camus was first considered as director, but Aranda made the film in the end. It runs about 112 minutes, with dialogue in Spanish and French.

Ana Belén and Georges Corraface play the leads, with Silvia Munt, Loles León, Laura Mañá, Jordi Dauder, Claude Brosset and Ramon Madaula in the cast. The sequences set in Istanbul feature Turkish actors including Rasim Öztekin, Selçuk Uluergüven and Güzin Özipek. Andrés Vicente Gómez produced.

The film opened in Spain on 16 December 1994, reaching about 1.24 million viewers and grossing more than 3.7 million euros, which made it one of the biggest Spanish hits of the 1990s. It earned twelve Goya nominations in 1995, and José Nieto’s original score won the Goya for Best Original Score. It also took part in the 19th Moscow International Film Festival. A six-part 2024 Spanish-Turkish series inspired by the same novel is a separate production.