FILM · 2010 · TURKEY

Eşrefpaşalılar

Directed by

Hüdaverdi Yavuz

Runtime

103 min

10 archived facts · 4 topics · 2 sources · Last reviewed Sep 2026

Two friends originally from Izmir-Eşrefpaşa have settled in Istanbul… While Tayyar (Hüseyin Soysalan) has become a mafia leader based on his passion for power and ruling, Davut (Turgay Tanülkü) has been managing a café in his small neighbourhood. Both have loved the same woman, Madam Eleni (Sermin Hürmeriç). But she had to get married to Tayyar despite her love for Davut. She also had a daughter called Duygu (Deniz…

Summary: TMDB

All facts (10)

1. #001

   Eşrefpaşalılar is director Hüdaverdi Yavuz's first feature-length cinema film; Yavuz had previously dealt with urban middle-class people in TV series such as Şehnaz Tango and Hayat Apartmanı.

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2. #002

   The screenplay is based on a stage play written by lead actor Burak Tarık, drawing on his real-life experiences.

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3. #003

   That play was staged by ANSE (Ankara Sanat Evi) for 3 years in various parts of Turkey and in European countries including Germany, and was seen by more than 400,000 people.

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4. #004

   At the audience's request the play was adapted into a film, but the screenplay was not a verbatim copy of the original play; the team stated that rather than telling the story of Eşrefpaşalılar, they aimed to present a portrait of Turkey and to reflect the type of neighborhood they missed.

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5. #005

   Unlike the theater cast, all roles in the film except Burak Tarık were recast; Hüseyin Soysalan, Turgay Tanülkü and Sermin Hürmeriç were brought into the cast.

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6. #006

   Filming began on 2 December 2009 and lasted a total of 4 weeks; the locations were the Balat and Ayvansaray neighborhoods in Istanbul's Fatih district and the Eyüpsultan district.

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7. #007

   512 supporting actors took part in the film, the rain system was used 3 times, and a total of 66 tons of water was spent on these scenes.

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8. #008

   Despite the absence of promotion, the film drew 218,246 viewers in its first 3 days of release; over the 23 weeks it remained in theaters it was seen by a total of 486,833 people.

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9. #009

   The film was released across Turkey on 5 March 2010 in 153 theaters and ranked second at the box office with $915,082 in its opening weekend.

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10. #010

    It was claimed that the idealist teacher character in the film represents Fethullah Gülen; Ahmet Hakan also wrote in his column in Hürriyet that the film portrays Gülen as a young imam, citing as his reason that the phrase 'O'na' appears at the top of the thanks list at the end of the film.

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