The Hive(HKAFF 2020)

Ayse returns to her hometown in Turkey to hear her dying mother’s last wish: for Ayse to receive and care for her beloved beehives. Having moved on from her rural upbringing for a city life, Ayse must reacquaint herself with her former environs and reflect upon her childhood years. Meanwhile, she cares for the beehives, which proves more difficult than she imagined, and encounters a rare Syrian brown bear that threatens her beehives and her life. Drawing from her experiences as a documentary filmmaker, director Eylem Kaftan assembles a strong and cinematic feature debut about a woman reconnecting with herself while navigating a life torn between the modern and the traditional.