Big Man, Little Love

Big Man, Little Love (Turkish: Büyük Adam Küçük Aşk, Kurdish: Hejar) is a 2001 international co-production drama film, written and directed by Handan İpekçi, about an orphaned Kurdish child and a Turkish pensioner thrown together by circumstance. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on October 19, 2001 (2001-10-19), won awards at film festivals in Antalya, Cairo, Cologne and Istanbul, including the Golden Orange for Best Film, and was Turkey's submission to the 74th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

An orphaned Kurdish child (Hejar) and a Turkish pensioner (Rıfat) are thrown together by circumstance. Rıfat, a widowed retired judge, refuses to get involved in politics. He is forced out of his solitude, when Hejar the only survivor of a police raid on his Kurdish neighbors, takes refuge at his home. Gradually, he warms up to the kid and decides to reunite her with her family.

Cast

• Şükran Güngör as Rıfat Bey
• Dilan Erçetin as Hejar
• Füsun Demirel as Sakine
• Yıldız Kenter as Müzeyyen Hanım
• İsmail Hakkı Şen as Evdo Emmi

Awards

1. Golden Orange & Special Jury Awards (Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor & Actress) , Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, 2001.
2. Silver Pyramid Award, Cairo International Film Festival, 2002.
3. Best Screenplay Award, Cologne Mediterranean Film Festival, 2002.
4. People's Choice Award, Istanbul International Film Festival, 2003.

External links

• Hejar at the Internet Movie Database
• Hejar, Reviewed by Neil Smith, BBC, Jan. 2003.