Yavrum

Yavrum (Turkish = My little one) is a 1970 Turkish drama film directed by Orhan Aksoy and written by Hamdi Değirmencioğlu. The film was co-produced by Nahit Ataman and Ertem Eğilmez. The full original title of the film as it is mentioned in the Turkish film history is Ayşecik Yavrum, 'Karataşlı Emine'.

Plot
Emine is pregnant, when her husband Ali joins the army. Since Ali has no relatives in the village, he asks Emine to go back to her father's village, until he returns from the military service. Emine who does not want to be a burden to anyone in the absence of her husband, prefers to stay in the village relying on the job that Midwife Nazife has found for her. In this way, Emine believes that she can more easily endure her husband's absence.

The job that Midwife Nazife has found for Emine is actually a trap. Hosts Handan and Cemal are aimed at stealing Emine's baby by compromising with Midwife Nazife. In this way, Handan wants to take money from her father who is longing for grandchildren, and to make him forgive herself and her husband Cemal who is a losing gambler. After Emine gives birth to her baby named Ayşe, Ebe Nazife and Handan send Emine to visit her sick husband in the army and kidnap Ayşe. Bad news awaits Emine, when she comes back. Midwife Nazife tells Emine that Ayşe is dead. When Ali cannot hear from Emine for a long time, Ali decides to go home on sick leave and receives the bitter news.

Growing up as the daughter of a wealthy family, years later Ayşe is now a young girl. A surprise awaits Ayşe, when she goes on vacation to her friend's farm.

Cast
The film, starring Zeynep Değirmencioğlu, Semra Sar, and Metin Serezli, boasts an exceptionally rich cast featuring the master actors and actresses of Turkish cinema: Suzan Avcı, Önder Somer, Mürüvvet Sim, Handan Adalı, Cevat Kurtuluş, Nubar Terziyan, Osman Alyanak, and Münir Özkul. Zeynep Değirmencioğlu, who made a groundbreaking impact on Turkish cinema with the child character Ayşecik, once again appears before the audience as the character Ayşe in this film. Semra Sar as Emine and Metin Serezli as Ali play Ayşe's biological parents, while Suzan Avcı as Handan and Önder Somer as Cemal play her step-parents. And Münir Özkul is in the role of the protective grandfather of Ayşe.

Production
The film was co-produced by Nahit Ataman and Ertem Eğilmez. Part of the film was shot in Çukurova, another part in Antalya, and some scenes at the Adana railway station.

Themes
The film is named after the character Emine who desperately and hysterically adopts a black stone in place of her baby Ayşe, when she is unexpectedly told about her death. The black stone embodies the metaphor of motherly-love and sorrow 'fulfilling' the absence of the baby. The drama becomes an exciting study of fate and motherly-love with alternating scenes of loss and hope, of sorrow and joy, as the audience knows from the very beginning that Ayşe is actually alive.