| Sibel | |
| Director: | Çagla Zencirci Guillaume Giovanetti |
| Producer: | Marie Legrand Rani Massalha Michael Eckelt Johannes Jancke Marsel Kalvo Nefes Polat Christel Henon Lilian Eche[1] |
| Editing: | Véronique Lange |
| Music: | Bassel Hallak, Pi |
| Cinematography: | Eric Devin |
| Starring: | Damla Sönmez |
| Runtime: | 95 minutes |
| Country: | France Germany Luxembourg Turkey |
| Language: | Turkish |
Sibel is a 2018 award-winning Turkish drama film starring Damla Sönmez and directed by Çagla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.[2]
25 years old Sibel lives with her father and sister in a remote village in the mountains of Turkey's Black Sea region. She is mute and communicates by using the ancient whistled language of their region.
Despised by her fellow villagers, she relentlessly hunts down a wolf sneaking in the neighboring forest, sparking off fears and fantasies among the villagers. There she crosses path with an injured and vulnerable fugitive, who is the first one to see her differently.[3]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of .[4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 4 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]
Jay Weissberg of Variety magazine praised Sibels folklore and gender roles,[1] while Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a potent real-world feminist fable".[6]