Yeşim Ustaoğlu directed the Turkish film Pandora’s Box, released internationally in 2009.
The film’s original Turkish title is Pandora’nın Kutusu. It follows three adult siblings who travel to find their elderly mother, Nusret, after she disappears from her village home. Their journey brings unresolved family tensions and different ideas about responsibility into view.
Although the English-language release is commonly associated with 2009, the film premiered in 2008. This explains why it is frequently identified as either the 2008 film or the 2009 release. Ustaoğlu’s drama uses the Pandora reference as a metaphor for concealed family problems being opened.
The film won the Golden Shell for Best Film at the 2008 San Sebastián International Film Festival. It should not be confused with the 1929 German film of the same English title, which stars Louise Brooks as Lulu.