A Handful of Paradise

Muammer Özer wrote and directed Bir Avuç Cennet (A Handful of Paradise), a drama made in 1985 as a Turkish-Swedish co-production. Shot in colour on 35 mm, it runs 104 minutes. It looks with a realist eye at the housing problem created by years of internal migration, inflation and income inequality in Turkey. Özer, counted among the masters of the realist current, is also among the film's producers, alongside Sabahattin Çetin and Kadri Yurdatap, and the production companies are Mine Film, Devkino and Belge Film.

Emine and Kamil come to Istanbul hoping for a better life, only to learn that the relatives they trusted have died, leaving them on the street with their two children. With no money for rent, the couple repairs an abandoned bus and makes a home of it, but their small happiness does not last. Tarık Akan plays Kamil and Hale Soygazi plays Emine; they were dubbed by Erdal Özyağcılar and Sermin Hürmeriç. The cast also includes Yavuzer Çetinkaya (a butcher), Savaş Yurttaş (a thief), Selçuk Uluergüven (a municipal driver), Barış Adalı, Revnak Güzel, Ömer Yalnızcık and Orhan Çağman.

Hüseyin Özşahin was the cinematographer, Tarık Öcal composed the music and Yurdaer Erşan was art director. The film is also known for bringing together well-known actors of the 1980s.