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Something Useful

40-something Leyla, a lawyer and a poet from Ankara, takes the night train to Izmir for a high school reunion. On the platform she meets Canan, a young nurse who boards the same train.

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Deze voorstelling maakt deel uit van Rialto Filmclub met als gastspreker deze maand Ernst-Jan Pfauth.

Something Useful

One day, director Pelin Esmer received a call from (script) writer Baris Biçakçi. He asked her: "Shall we write a screenplay together about a female poet?" After some hesitation — she had never written a script before — she said yes. The collaboration resulted in Something Useful, a beautiful poetic realistic film about the consequences of chance events, which almost casually also shows the current position of women in Turkey.

40-something Leyla, a lawyer and a poet from Ankara, takes the night train to Izmir for a high school reunion. On the platform she meets Canan, a young nurse who boards the same train to travel to a job interview. During their journey, the two women get talking. Leyla quickly realizes that something is bothering Canan. Finally Canan tells the full story: she is not actually going to an interview, but to assist Yavuz, who is paralyzed and wants to end his life. Leyla decides to accompany Canan.