Bread of Hope 2026

Directed by Biket İlhan

The life of Nazan, who runs the small town bakery "Tatlı Maya" (Bread of Hope) all on her own, changes when a young Syrian woman named Rana walks through her door. Already in labor, Rana gives birth to her baby inside the bakery. Having lost her husband, been evicted from her home, and left with nowhere else to go, Rana is taken in by Nazan—first into her own home, and later into the bakery. As a quiet bond forms between the two women amidst the rhythms of daily life, rumors begin to spread and intensify throughout the town. Fueled in part by Sami—a man who has long harbored an interest in Nazan—these prejudices lead customers to abandon the bakery, eventually resulting in the authorities sealing off "Tatlı Maya" on the grounds that Rana was being employed there illegally. Nazan begins to pay a heavy price for the decision she made.