Set in Turkey, in a fairly “typical” suburb, Serife Tavsan, the second feature by Tareq Daoud, which has world-premiered in the feature-film competition of the Zurich Film Festival, tells the story of a woman forced to reckon with a patriarchal society that affords her very little room for manoeuvre. Having devoted her entire life to her family – to her husband, a garage owner who has recently passed away, and to her three children, one of whom has emigrated to Switzerland – Serife (played to perfection by Nihal Koldas) finds herself alone for the first time in her life, faced with an intoxicating freedom that she gradually learns to savour, free of guilt.

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Following the sudden death of her husband, who, as in any self-respecting traditional family, had always handled all of the practicalities of their life (bills, bank loans and property deeds), the film’s protagonist can at last do as she pleases with her time, her body and her mind. That freedom is soon overshadowed, however, by the intrusive presence of her three sons, determined to step into the role left vacant by their father. Like a pawn on the chessboard of a life she never got to choose, Serife once again finds herself a prisoner of the men in her family. Accompanying her on the path towards rebirth are her rebellious grandson, Onur (Onur Gözeten), newly arrived in Turkey for an internship at a city hotel; Gülay (Selin Köseoğlu), a young nonconformist waitress; and the eccentric Iskender (Berkan Şal), a curious tour guide with a poetic soul. Together, and to her sons’ great dismay, Serife, Onur, Gülay and Iskender form a dynamic and unlikely band of rebels determined to live their lives as they see fit.

Worried about their inheritance, Serife’s three sons are ready to do anything – absolutely anything – to bring her back to her senses. Forced, for the first time, to confront her refusal to obey, the trio try (in vain) to have her placed under legal guardianship. What really sends them into a rage is Serife’s unilateral decision to sell the family garage in order to buy a house in the countryside (or, rather, what remains of it), where she lived as a child, playing freely with her best friend whom she has never forgotten. For her, this place represents not only a cherished memory, but also a symbol of the freedom that was taken from her at a very young age, when she had to marry the father of her children.

A touching portrait of a woman who finally dares to free herself from a suffocating patriarchal family, the movie is also a tribute to art (and poetry in particular) as a means of questioning one’s own identity. A comedy whose tone is at times darker than it might suggest, Serife Tavsan teaches us that age is just a number and that freedom can be claimed at any moment – you just need to find the courage (and it does take a lot of it) and the right people to accompany you.

Serife Tavsan was produced by Swiss outfit Box Productions together with Turkey's Istos Film and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse.