Paper Lives (film)

Paper Lives (Kağıttan Hayatlar) is a 2021 Turkish drama film directed by Can Ulkay and written by Ercan Mehmet Erdem. The film stars Çağatay Ulusoy, Emir Ali Doğrul, Ersin Arıcı, Turgay Tanülkü and Selen Öztürk. It premiered on Netflix on March 12, 2021.

Plot
In an impoverished neighborhood of Istanbul, a friendly garbage collector, Mehmet, who after becoming homeless has a soft spot for the many homeless children in the area, discovers an eight-year-old boy hiding in his colleague's garbage bag. Mehmet is dedicated to reconnecting the boy with his family.

Cast

 * Çağatay Ulusoy as Mehmet
 * Emir Ali Doğrul as Ali
 * Ersin Arıcı as Gonzales
 * Turgay Tanülkü as Tahsin
 * Selen Öztürk

Critical response
According John Serba from Decider, the film "starts strong, holds on pretty well, then blows it hard at the end".