Orlando

England, 1600. Queen Elizabeth I promises Orlando, a young nobleman obsessed with poetry, that she will grant him land and fortune if he agrees to satisfy a very particular request.

Under the Yoke

Follows the Bulgarian people's struggle for national independence in the period from 1875 to the Liberation from Otoman bondage.

Balkan Is Not Dead

A Macedonian family from Bitola at the turn of the twentieth century tries to survive, preserve its roots and remain together.

Lawrence of Arabia

The story of British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Lawrence becomes a flamboyant, messianic figure in the cause of Arab unity but his psychological instability threatens to undermine his achievements.

The Ottoman Lieutenant

Lillie, a determined American woman, ventures overseas to join Dr. Jude at a remote medical mission in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). However, Lillie soon finds herself at odds with Jude and the mission’s founder, Woodruff, when she falls for the titular military man, Ismail, just as the war is about to erupt.

Pavlos Melas

The military action of a Greek officer, Pavlos Melas, for the liberation of Macedonia from the Turks and Bulgarians. A story stick to the facts for the heroism and sacrifice of the Greeks. Pavlos Melas is the symbol of the struggle for the independence of Macedonia in Greece.

Taras Bulba

Ukraine, 16th century. While the Poles dominate the Cossack steppes, Andrei, son of Taras Bulba, a Cossack leader, must choose between his love for his family and his folk and his passion for a Polish woman.

America America

A young Anatolian Greek, entrusted with his family's fortune, loses it en route to Istanbul and dreams of going to America.

Time of Violence

In the 17th century, a Bulgarian Christian region is selected by the Ottoman rulers to serve as an example of conversion to Islam. A Janissary who was kidnapped from the village as a boy is sent to force the reluctant inhabitants to convert. The Turkish governor seeks a peaceful solution, but ultimately torture, violence, and rebellion break out.

Ask Your Heart

A love affair threatened by a barrier as great as itself... Can differences of faith stand in the way of an innocent love affair? Two young people, Esma and Mustafa, fall in love. For them, the future only has meaning if they are together. Failing this, life is meaningless. However, overhanging their love is a barrier unique to the period and location: Mustafa is a clandestine Christian, when everyone including Esma thinks he is Muslim. In the meantime, the Ottoman Empire introduces a series of reforms giving Christians the same rights as Muslims. From this point on, the Church urges secret Christians to reveal their faith. This poses a dilemma for Mustafa: he is caught between his love and the Church.

Kozanoğlu

Hüseyin's father, who is a member of the Kozanoglu tribe, dies when he does not pay the fee requested by the Bey. Upon this situation, Hüseyin takes an oath to avenge.

Promises & Betrayals: Britain and the Struggle for the Holy Land

A documentary on how British double-dealing during the First World War ignited the conflict between Arab and Jew in the Middle East. The bitter struggle between Arab and Jew for control of the Holy Land has caused untold suffering in the Middle East for generations. It is often claimed that the crisis originated with Jewish emigration to Palestine and the foundation of the state of Israel. Yet the roots of the conflict are to be found much earlier – in British double-dealing during the First World War. This is a story of intrigue among rival empires; of misguided strategies; and of how conflicting promises to Arab and Jew created a legacy of bloodshed which determined the fate of the Middle East.

Mahpeyker: Kösem Sultan

From Atatürk to Erdoğan: Building a Nation

Turkey's history has been shaped by two major political figures: Mustafa Kemal (1881-1934), known as Atatürk, the Father of the Turks, founder of the modern state, and the current president Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan, who apparently wants Turkey to regain the political and military pre-eminence it had as an empire under the Ottoman dynasty.

The Battle of Canakkale

Pilot Captain Salih Ekrem is a young air officer and one of the first Ottoman pilots.

El Jaïda

Four women meet at Dar Joued on the eve of Independence. With different ages and social conditions, they are condemned to live together under the authority and injustice of their jailer: "El Jaida". They will share memories of the outside world, joy, emotions and distress of their daily lives.