Mustang

Mustang is a 2015 drama and coming-of-age film marking the feature directing debut of Deniz Gamze Ergüven, who co-wrote the screenplay with Alice Winocour. An international co-production of France, Germany, Turkey and Qatar, shot in Turkish, it tells the story of five orphaned sisters living with their grandmother and uncle in İnebolu. After an innocent game with male classmates is twisted into a scandal, the girls are confined to their home and prepared one by one for arranged marriages. Narrated largely from the perspective of the youngest sister, Lale, the film follows their search for freedom under mounting pressure.

The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, winning the Europa Cinemas Label award. Representing France, it was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, and it won four César Awards including Best First Film and Best Original Screenplay. It also received the European Parliament's Lux Prize.