Belmin Söylemez: PRESENT TENSE (2012)

Söylemez, who previously made documentaries, focuses in her debut feature on a young woman recently divorced living on the edge in Istanbul. About to be evicted, she gets a job as a fortune teller in a cafe reading coffee grounds, and converts what money she has into dollars to go to America, a dream that may not happen. Sanem Öge, the restrained, sad-faced actress who plays the lead, looks like Juliette Binoche and Austrian dp Peter Roehsler provides beautiful images (he leans toward turquoise, yellow, and pale green) that are a continual pleasure to watch.