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BROKEN MUSSELS

By Seyfettin TOKMAK

Drama - Completed 2010

Two Kurdish children head for Istanbul to find jobs. A Bosnian mother, comes to Istanbul with her daughter to build a new life. Their paths intersect at a pension. Soon, a desperate search begins. The little girl and her “two new friends” start looking for the mother who has disappeared misteriously

- Year of production
- 2010
- Genres
- Drama
- Countries
- TURKEY
- Languages
- TURKISH
- Budget
- 0.3 - 0.6 M$
- Duration
- 90 mn
- Director(s)
- Seyfettin TOKMAK
- Writer(s)
- Kenan KAVUT
- Synopsis
- Hâkim (15) and his cousin Faysal (14) come from Mardin (a province near Turkey - Iraq border) to Istanbul for finding a job. They settle in a cheap pension in Kumkapi, a district mostly occupied by illegal immigrants and fugitives. Their final aim is earning enough money for a journey to Germany where their cousin lives. However, two boys soon realize that survival in this big city is not as easy as they imagine. During their attempts to find job, they discover that all their fellow townsmen are vendors selling mussels. However, as they don’t have capital and needed connections, they understand that it’s impossible to for them to start mussel business. Eventually, Hâkim and Faysal owe a lot for the pension room. The owner of pension, Cevat (37), who is also a middleman of a local organ mafia, forces them to work for himself in return for their debt. Now, two boys have a job that they cannot figure out exactly: They sometimes take “a box” and sometimes “a woman” to the addresses they are given. Medina (40) is a Bosnian woman who stays in the same pension with her daughter Elma (13). Medina, earns her life by selling dry provisions in an open market. Since she plans to settle in Turkey, she wants to buy a bench for herself in that market. However, her savings is not enough to cover the price of the bench. Seeing her desperate situation, Cevat offers to give her the money she needs in return for one of her kidney. Medina who tries to get a new identity and wants to secure the future of Elma accepts this proposal. Meanwhile Hakim and Faysal can’t get any response for the letters they’ve sent to Germany. Hakim discovers that the Nigerians are going to actualize their escape plan soon. But their intent to join this group doesn’t come into life when Medina disappears suddenly. Hakim, Faysal and worried Elma find themselves in a desperate search. All they know is they have to depend on each other.
- Beginning of shooting
- Feb 01, 2010