Yellow Letters

Yellow Letters
Yellow Letters
	German theatrical poster
German	Gelbe Briefe
Directed by	İlker Çatak
Written by	İlker Çatak; Ayda Çatak; Enis Köstepen;
Produced by	Ingo Fliess
Starring	Özgü Namal; Tansu Biçer; Leyla Smyrna Cabas; İpek Bilgin;
Cinematography	Judith Kaufmann
Edited by	Gesa Jäger
Music by	Marvin Miller
Production; companies	Arte; Haut et Court; Liman Film; ZDF; if… Productions;
Distributed by	Alamode Film (Germany)
Release dates	13 February 2026 (Berlinale); 5 March 2026 (Germany);
Running time	127 minutes
Countries	Germany; Turkey; France;
Language	Turkish

Yellow Letters (German: Gelbe Briefe) is a 2026 political drama film directed by İlker Çatak, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ayda Çatak and Enis Köstepen. It follows Derya (Özgü Namal) and Aziz (Tansu Biçer), a couple of Turkish theater artists who lose their jobs due to political persecution in Turkey.^[2]

The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival on 13 February 2026, where it won the Golden Bear.^[3] It was theatrically released in Germany by Alamode Film on 5 March.

Premise

The marriage of an artist couple begins to unravel after a state arbitration at their play's premiere.^[4]

Cast

Özgü Namal as Derya Tufan^[2]
Tansu Biçer as Aziz Tufan
Leyla Smyrna Cabas as Ezgi Tufan
İpek Bilgin as Güngör Tufan
Aydın Işık as Salih
Aziz Çapkurt as Baran
Yusuf Akgün as Fikret
Uygar Tamer as Kadriye
Jale Arıkan as Kübra
Seda Türkmen as Sema
Emre Bakar as Ismail Karacabaş
Elit İşcan as Cemre
Sultan Ulutaş Alopé as Rojda
Emine Meyrem as Gülin
İpek Seyalıoğlu as Zeynep

Production

Development

An international co-production of Germany, France, and Turkey. In 2021, the project received a €10,000 production grant by the German-Turkish Co-Production Development Fund.^[5] It participated at the Berlinale Co-Production Market in February 2022.^[6] In November 2022, the project was awarded €65,000 grant from the MOIN Filmförderung.^[7] The project received €368,000 production grant from Eurimages in November 2023.^[8]

Filming

Principal photography took place in Hamburg and Berlin, standing in for Ankara and Istanbul, and wrapped in July 2024.^[9] It was also shot at the Berliner Ensemble Main Auditorium, with a scene involving about 250 extras.^[10]

Release

Yellow Letters had its world premiere at the Main Competition section of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2026.^[11] In February 2024, Be For Films acquired the film's international sales.^[12]

The film was released theatrically in Germany by Alamode Film on 5 March 2026.^[13]

The film was also part of Horizons section of the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it was screened from 3 July to 7 July 2026.^[14]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 21 reviews.^[15]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival	22 February 2026	Golden Bear	Yellow Letters	Won	^[16]^[17]
Berlin International Film Festival	22 February 2026	Prize of the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas	Yellow Letters	Won	^[18]
German Film Awards	29 May 2026	Best Fiction Film		Nominated	^[19]
		Best Director	Ilker Çatak	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Ilker Çatak Ayda Meryem Çatak Enis Köstepen	Nominated
		Best Actress	Özgü Namal	Nominated
		Best Actor	Tansu Biçer	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Judith Kaufmann	Nominated
		Best Editing	Gesa Jäger	Nominated
		Best Original Score	Marvin Miller	Won
		Best Production Design	Zazie Knepper	Nominated

References

↑ "Yellow Letters [M]". Australian Classification Board. 15 June 2026. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
1 2 Presseheft zum Film. In: berlinale.de (PDF-Datei, S. 3–5; retrieved 26 January 2026).
↑ Lodge, Guy (21 February 2026). "Berlin Film Festival Award Winners (Updating Live)". Variety. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
↑ Barraclough, Leo (20 January 2026). "Trailer Debuts for Ilker Catak's 'Yellow Letters' Ahead of World Premiere in Competition at Berlinale (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
↑ "Funding Decisions German-Turkish Co-Production Development Fund". Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
↑ Ramachandran, Naman (14 January 2022). "Berlinale Reveals Series, Generation, Co-Production Market Titles". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
↑ "Förderentscheidung vom 23.11.2022". MOIN Filmförderung. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
↑ Geisinger, Gabriella (28 November 2023). "Eurimages announces funding for 29 international co-productions". Screen Global Production. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
↑ Katz, David (21 March 2023). "Ilker Çatak to follow up The Teachers' Lounge with Yellow Letters". Cineuropa. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
↑ "Das BE als Filmkulisse!". Berliner Ensemble (in German). 12 July 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (20 January 2026). "Berlinale Unveils 2026 Competition With Amy Adams Drama 'At The Sea', Karim Aïnouz's Starry 'Rosebush Pruning' & 'Rose' With Sandra Hüller". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
↑ Keslassy, Elsa (8 February 2024). "'The Teachers' Lounge' Director Ilker Çatak Reteams With Be For Films on 'Yellow Letters' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
↑ Schuster, Barbara (15 August 2025). "Alamode legt Kinostart von İlker Çataks „Gelbe Briefe" fest". The Spot Media & Film (in German). Retrieved 22 January 2026.
↑ "Yellow Letters Horizons". Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 20 June 2026. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
↑ "Yellow Letters". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
↑ Roxborough, Scott (21 February 2026). "Ilker Çatak's 'Yellow Letters' Wins Berlin Golden Bear in Politically-Charged Ceremony". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
↑ Lattanzio, Ryan (21 February 2026). "İlker Catak's 'Yellow Letters' Wins Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival: Full List of Awards". IndieWire. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
↑ "Further Prizes". Berlinale. 21 February 2026. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
↑ Nobach, Marius (31 March 2026). "Auf der Welle des Erfolgs". Filmdienst.

External links

[1] "Yellow Letters [M]". Australian Classification Board. 15 June 2026. Retrieved 16 June 2026.

[presseheft-handlung-2] 1 2 Presseheft zum Film. In: berlinale.de (PDF-Datei, S. 3–5; retrieved 26 January 2026).

[3] Lodge, Guy (21 February 2026). "Berlin Film Festival Award Winners (Updating Live)". Variety. Retrieved 21 February 2026.

[4] Barraclough, Leo (20 January 2026). "Trailer Debuts for Ilker Catak's 'Yellow Letters' Ahead of World Premiere in Competition at Berlinale (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2026.

[5] "Funding Decisions German-Turkish Co-Production Development Fund". Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. Retrieved 22 January 2026.

[6] Ramachandran, Naman (14 January 2022). "Berlinale Reveals Series, Generation, Co-Production Market Titles". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2026.

[7] "Förderentscheidung vom 23.11.2022". MOIN Filmförderung. Retrieved 22 January 2026.

[8] Geisinger, Gabriella (28 November 2023). "Eurimages announces funding for 29 international co-productions". Screen Global Production. Retrieved 21 January 2026.

[9] Katz, David (21 March 2023). "Ilker Çatak to follow up The Teachers' Lounge with Yellow Letters". Cineuropa. Retrieved 22 January 2026.

[10] "Das BE als Filmkulisse!". Berliner Ensemble (in German). 12 July 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2026.

[11] Goodfellow, Melanie (20 January 2026). "Berlinale Unveils 2026 Competition With Amy Adams Drama 'At The Sea', Karim Aïnouz's Starry 'Rosebush Pruning' & 'Rose' With Sandra Hüller". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 22 January 2026.

[12] Keslassy, Elsa (8 February 2024). "'The Teachers' Lounge' Director Ilker Çatak Reteams With Be For Films on 'Yellow Letters' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2026.

[13] Schuster, Barbara (15 August 2025). "Alamode legt Kinostart von İlker Çataks „Gelbe Briefe" fest". The Spot Media & Film (in German). Retrieved 22 January 2026.

[14] "Yellow Letters Horizons". Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 20 June 2026. Retrieved 12 July 2026.

[15] "Yellow Letters". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 30 May 2026.

[awards:hr-16] Roxborough, Scott (21 February 2026). "Ilker Çatak's 'Yellow Letters' Wins Berlin Golden Bear in Politically-Charged Ceremony". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 February 2026.

[award:Iw-17] Lattanzio, Ryan (21 February 2026). "İlker Catak's 'Yellow Letters' Wins Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival: Full List of Awards". IndieWire. Retrieved 22 February 2026.

[18] "Further Prizes". Berlinale. 21 February 2026. Retrieved 22 February 2026.

[19] Nobach, Marius (31 March 2026). "Auf der Welle des Erfolgs". Filmdienst.

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v t e Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear
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2001–present	Intimacy (2001) Bloody Sunday (2002) Spirited Away (2002) In This World (2003) Head-On (2004) U-Carmen eKhayelitsha (2005) Grbavica (2006) Tuya's Marriage (2007) Elite Squad (2008) The Milk of Sorrow (2009) Honey (2010) A Separation (2011) Caesar Must Die (2012) Child's Pose (2013) Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014) Taxi (2015) Fire at Sea (2016) On Body and Soul (2017) Touch Me Not (2018) Synonyms (2019) There Is No Evil (2020) Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021) Alcarràs (2022) On the Adamant (2023) Dahomey (2024) Dreams (Sex Love) (2025) Yellow Letters (2026)