Rahma (2026) – Balkon Film

“How much of what’s written for you can you really erase?”

Logline

A childless archeologist plans to pursue surrogacy overseas until her path crosses with an orphan refugee child, leading her to question her original intentions and discover unexpected possibilities.

SYNOPSIS

Meryem, an archaeologist working at the ancient site of Göbeklitepe, is a woman defined by a profound absence. Despite numerous surgeries and failed IVF attempts, her biological battle to become a mother remains unsuccessful. In a final, desperate move against the wishes of her husband, Ibrahim, she turns to surrogacy in Georgia.

However, her journey takes an unexpected turn when she encounters Rahma, a 9-year-old Syrian orphan surviving on the harsh margins of society. Although Meryem’s own traumatic childhood with a stepmother initially makes her wary of adoption, a mystical and emotional bond begins to form between them. As their paths intertwine, Rahma’s enigmatic presence acts as an unseen catalyst—an indirect spiritual force that begins to heal Meryem’s deep-seated physical and psychological wounds.

Just as Meryem prepares to fight for Rahma’s freedom and a shared future, Rahma’s dark past resurfaces. Meryem must now transcend her own desires and engage in a fierce struggle to protect the child, discovering that motherhood is not just about giving life, but about saving it.

Cast and Crew

Cast	Written & Directed & Produced by	Co-Producer
Deniz Işın, Feyyaz Duman, Uğur Aslan, Nagam Bireç, Özlem Taş, Sogol Khaligh, Süleyman Kabaali, Hakan Salınmış, Selin Köse	Faysal Soysal	Selman Alimoğlu, Barış Yıldırım, Ivan Tonev, Michael Sarantinos, Giuseppe Lepore

Line Producer	Director of Photography	Production Design
Selim Güntürkün	Vedat Özdemir	Meral Aktan

Sound	Sound Design	Costume
Georgi Filipov	Boris Trayanov, Mustafa Durma	Gülşah Yüksel

Edited By	Composed by	Final Mix
Osman Bayraktaroğlu	Peyman Yazdanian	Ulaş Ağce

Color Correction	Special Effects	Production
Sakis Bouzanis	Theodoros Tziatzios, Yusuf Ergin	Balkon Film

Co-Production
Balkon Film (Turkiye), Ars-Digital(Bulgaria), Steficon (Greece), Giuseppe Lepore(Italian)

FROM DIRECTOR

Rahma movie project is a project I have been thinking about and working on since 2019. İbrahim and Meryem’s story is similar to our personal journey of having children. We were able to have our twins only after 9 years and there was no way we didn’t try. In addition, the misery of unprotected and orphaned children I encountered during the documentaries I shot in Africa and Syria during this period led me to think about the ordeal of coming to the world from a mother’s womb and the adventure of endless migration from one homeland to another and to create an artistic work on this. This project takes its name from a child with very big dreams who was operated on by Doctors Worldwide in Gombe, Uganda. Rahma’s face was not clear whether she is a boy or a girl. The Rahma name originally comes from the womb of a mother and the mercy of God.

In the region, we live in and in different parts of the world, unfortunately, women and children are the most injured in wars that arise as a result of the decisions of politicians. We are born and grow up in events that traumatize several generations. There is no price we do not pay to satisfy our ego and then our own family peace, but when it comes to the happiness of others and foreigners, none of us are willing to take responsibility. Yet the salvation of our own child is in fact subtly tied to the salvation of someone else’s child. This is exactly what I want to explain in this movie. In other words, the mercy and love we will show to the weak and helpless other will cause a new budding and clean generation to emerge in our sterilized womb and perhaps in our hearts, and perhaps this individual sharing and conscientious stances of humanity will stop the wars that politicians cannot end.

Scenes From The Film

Backstage Scenes

Cast and Crew

Festivals and Awards