Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite (Uçurtmayı Vurmasınlar) (translated)

Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite is a 1989 Turkish drama directed by Tunç Başaran, adapted from Feride Çiçekoğlu's 1986 novella of the same name, with a screenplay credited to both Çiçekoğlu and Başaran and production by Magnum Film. Çiçekoğlu's own years in prison after the 12 September 1980 military coup lend the story an autobiographical foundation. Set in Ankara in 1984, in the coup's aftermath, the film portrays everyday life in a women's prison through the eyes of five-year-old Barış.

Forced to grow up behind bars because of his mother's sentence, Barış (Ozan Bilen) watches kites flying above the courtyard as symbols of freedom and forms a deep bond with İnci (Nur Sürer), a political prisoner. The cast also includes Füsun Demirel, Meral Çetinkaya, Güzin Özipek and Güzin Özyağcılar. The film won Golden Oranges for Best Film, Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography at the 26th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, was named Best Turkish Film at the 8th Istanbul International Film Festival, and was selected as Türkiye's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 62nd Academy Awards. It was restored in 2024.