Yeşim Ustaoğlu is returning to the San Sebastián Film Festival’s competition with What Remains, a drama starring Öykü Karayel as a poet confronting a life that has left her creatively and emotionally confined.
The film will premiere Sept. 22 during the 74th edition of the Basque festival, which runs from Sept. 18-26. Ahead of the screening, a never-before-seen clip released through The Hollywood Reporter on Monday offers an early look at the painful tensions facing its central character.
Ustaoğlu arrives back at San Sebastián after winning the Golden Shell in 2008 for Pandora’s Box. That film also brought lead actress Tsilla Chelton the Silver Shell for best actress.
In What Remains, Karayel plays Elif, a poet attempting to escape a suffocating existence and rediscover both her conscience and creative voice. According to the film’s synopsis, Elif begins challenging established ideas about family, identity and the meaning of life as she pursues a new understanding of herself.
Her choices do not affect her alone. The synopsis says Elif’s journey pushes the people around her to reassess their own lives, ultimately sending the entire family in a different direction.
Metin Akdülger co-stars as Mehmet, while Ali Kayra Kul plays Selim and İlyas Salman appears as Mustafa.
A Relationship Under Pressure
The newly released footage focuses closely on Elif and Mehmet during an emotionally difficult conversation. Their exchange reaches a stark moment when Mehmet asks her: “Do you even love me anymore?”
That confrontation provides a glimpse of the personal consequences surrounding Elif’s attempt to break from the patterns that have defined her life. It also reflects the film’s broader interest in what happens when one person’s search for freedom forces an entire family to confront its circumstances.
For Ustaoğlu, the project emerged from concerns she recognized in both herself and others. The filmmaker said What Remains began taking shape “precisely when I started asking this question again,” describing the feature as deeply personal.
“It grew out of a desire to break free from a sense of suffocation and weariness — one I had begun to witness not only in myself, but in the people around me,” Ustaoğlu said. “A suffocation that traps our lives in a systemic cycle, standardises us, grinds us down, and eventually drains our ability to create.”
She added that stepping away appeared to offer the only possible path forward: “The only way out seemed to be to stop everything, step outside it all, leave, look, and try to understand.”
International Partners and Distribution
What Remains is a Ustaoglu Film production from Turkey, made with Luxembourg’s Tarantula, Bulgaria’s RFF International and France’s Cite Films. The film was made in collaboration with Istos Film.
Mubi, Pak Ventures and Yuvision serve as co-producers. Mubi, which owns The Match Factory, has acquired all rights to the film in Turkey, while The Match Factory is overseeing global sales.
What Happens Next?
What Remains will enter the San Sebastián competition when it premieres Sept. 22. The festival continues through Sept. 26, marking Ustaoğlu’s latest appearance at the event following the Golden Shell and Silver Shell honors connected to Pandora’s Box in 2008.