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Not Worth a Fig (İncir Çekirdeği)

Not Worth a Fig (İncir Çekirdeği)

Movie · 2009 · 5 people

Selda Çiçek made her feature debut with Not Worth a Fig (İncir Çekirdeği), a Turkish drama from 2009 that she both wrote and directed. The story comes from real life: a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage to the husband of her dead sister. Released across Turkey on 6 November 2009, the film was also picked for the 16th London Turkish Film Festival. Through the metaphor of the fig seed it asks how cheaply human life is held.

The events unfold in Mardin over a single day in the life of a family. Seven years earlier the family's only son Celil (Halil Yomak), back from his military service, died by stepping on a landmine during a picnic. His sister Delal (Makbule Sitare Akbaş), blaming herself, later takes her own life. Heda (Özgü Namal), married off to Delal's husband Nazif (Barış Çakmak), tries to be a mother to their small daughter Suham (Semanur Dönmez); she is also pregnant, and the family believes the baby will be a boy. Nazif pays his wife no attention and spends his nights with his lover, while the unseen despair of Heda's mother Cemile keeps growing.

Filming took place in Mardin in August and September 2008. Alongside Özgü Namal, Derya Durmaz and Özlem Gezgin also appear.

DirectorSelda Çiçek

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Cast

Özgü Namal Özgü Namal Actor · 47 years old Heda Turgay Tanülkü Turgay Tanülkü Actor · 73 years old Abdülkadir Barış Çakmak Barış Çakmak Actor · 47 years old Sitare Akbaş Sitare Akbaş Film actor · 38 years old Özlem Gezgin Özlem Gezgin Actor · 30 years old

Also in the cast: Derya Durmaz (Cemile)

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Drawing on a real life, İncir Çekirdeği tells of a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage to the husband of her dead sister. Squeezed into a single day in the life of a family in Mardin, the story makes plain how little say the woman has over her own life. The family's belief that the coming baby will be a boy quietly underlines the weight of the expectation of a son. The only son, back from military service and killed by a landmine during a picnic, leaves a painful mark that speaks to the region's recent past. Through the metaphor in its title the film asks how cheaply human life is held, and tries to ask it without turning it into a slogan.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

This is not a film to watch with children. It deals with very heavy subjects such as loss, suicide and an unhappy marriage. The story takes place over a single day in a family's life, and the mood is heavy throughout. It can be thought-provoking for adults and older teens. If the family watches together, set aside time to talk afterwards. Not for anyone after a cheerful evening.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Selda Çiçek's first feature, which she both wrote and directed, stands out for its decision to compress events into a single day. That structure offers a strong frame for letting the weight of the losses seven years earlier, and of Heda's marriage, be felt in retrospect. But loading so much tragedy onto one day risks pushing the story towards melodrama; as the sorrows pile up, the emotional impact can wear thin at times. Heda, played by Özgü Namal, is a demanding role that has to carry despair quietly rather than through big words. Its selection for the 16th London Turkish Film Festival is a meaningful sign for a first-time director.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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