Suddenly

After decades of living in Hamburg, Reyhan returns to İstanbul with her husband for a short while. On the eve of her return, she realizes that her sense of smell has gone. When a doctor’s appointment leaves her anxious about the possibility of a serious illness, she decides to follow her instincts to regain her sense of smell instead of undergoing more tests. To establish a new bond with life, Reyhan chooses to leave everything behind. She vanishes, secretly moves into her late grandmother’s flat, gets a random job at a hotel, and meets a blind man. Just as she assumes a new life seems possible, she realizes she has become a missing person. She considers this her chance for freedom.

Melisa Önel

Melisa Önel was born in İzmir in 1980. After studying International Relations at Tufts University, she studied Film at Istanbul Bilgi University. A filmmaker and a photographer, her work has been exhibited in many international exhibitions. In addition, she is involved in theatre and video installation. She has been writing and directing shorts, fiction films, and documentaries since 2007, including ‘Me and Nuri Bala’ (Best First Documentary at Antalya Film Festival 2009), Seaburners (Berlinale Forum 2014), and Coastliners (Istanbul Film Festival 2016). Her second film, ‘Suddenly,’ premiered at the Tokyo Film Festival (2022) and the Rotterdam Film Festival (2023).