Reminiscent of the stately work of Jia Zhang-ke and Pedro Costa, the FIPRESCI Prize-winning Distant Constellation offers a generous perspective on the cycle of life via Turkish elders surrounded by signs of the celestial.

In an Istanbul retirement home, time appears to stand still as residents speak of the lives they’ve lived, of wars and loves and loss and family. They are a testament to a century of Turkish upheaval and traditions not yet entirely lost. But just outside their windows, a new construction project and its youthful workers puncture the reveries with noise, clamour and the promise of gleaming newness.

Winner of the FIPRESCI critics award at the Viennale and a special mention at Locarno International Film Festival, Distant Constellation is the assured feature documentary debut from Turkish photographer Shevaun Mizrahi. The result of years spent with this remarkable cast of elders, Mizrahi’s film is a warm and sensitive reverie on ageing, memory and progress while arguing for recognition of the common humanity that we all share.

"An evocative, often touching documentary about the journey between being young and old that will surely delight and inspire audiences." – Vox