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A community’s dark secrets bubble under the surface in this tense fish-out-of-water thriller.
In a remote, arid town in southern Turkey where running water is scarce and massive sinkholes keep appearing, a newly appointed state prosecutor arrives in the lead-up to an election. Having made his way from the city to investigate and stamp out rampant corruption, the young man is at first greeted enthusiastically by local powerbrokers. But he quickly finds himself entangled in a web of hostility and homophobic gossip – and when a shocking assault is uncovered, his own whereabouts on the night of the crime are brought into question.
Screening direct from Cannes, where it was nominated for the Queer Palm, this enthralling new film from Emin Alper (A Tale of Three Sisters) – two-time winner of Istanbul’s Golden Tulip for Best Film – puts a modern Turkish twist on classics such as Wake in Fright and Deliverance. Imploding with environmental heat and taut small-town antipathy, Burning Days captures not just a place where regular rules don’t apply, but a country situated at a decisive cultural crossroads.
“Something special – a film that works as a highly-charged suspenser, a savvy piece of tightly-enclosed world-building and a sharp critique of machismo, populism and their very tangible dangers.” – Screen Daily