Turquoise (Turquaze)

Turquaze is a 2009 Belgian-Turkish co-production drama written and directed by Kadir Balcı. Shot in Dutch, it follows three Turkish brothers — Ediz, 38, Timur, 28, and Bora, 16 — who return to Ghent after their father's funeral in Istanbul. Their mother Meryem chooses to stay behind in Turkey for a while, leaving the brothers to rebuild their lives and find a new balance in their father's absence.

As the eldest, Ediz steps into the role of family patriarch. Timur devotes himself to fulfilling his late father's dream by auditioning to play trumpet in a marching band, a passion that slowly drives a wedge between him and his girlfriend Sarah. Young Bora, left without guidance, drifts toward a crowd of friends that threatens to land him in trouble. Through the brothers' struggles, the film explores questions of identity and belonging among Turks caught between two cultures, with filming taking place in both Istanbul and Ghent.

Starring Johan Heldenbergh, Charlotte Vandermeersch, Tilbe Saran, Nihat Altınkaya and Evren Duyal, the film opened in Belgian cinemas on 29 September 2010 and was selected for the 16th London Turkish Film Festival.