Director: CIGDEM SERCE.
Logline: A young Turkish woman needs to choose what is best for her heart, her family, culture and future. Short Synopsis Elif struggles with love, independence and her parent’s cultural expectations when faced with the choice - follow the path of a Turkish woman and face the trials and tribulations that her traditions dictate; or break free and find her own voice, risking alienation. Long Synopsis A young Turkish woman Elif, lives with her parents in the Western suburbs of Sydney. She has been engaged to an Australian man for some time, having fought to convince her parents to accept this choice. Despite her independence of mind and spirit, her family’s cultural expectations dictate that she cannot leave home until after she is married. It is an environment where men are expected to make decisions for woman, first the father, then the husband. But now, as she lives a modern working life, Elif has doubts about her fiancé. She doubts his honesty and fidelity, yet her family and relatives expect them to be married, and her father is angry and humiliated that this is taking so long. Elif finds space and solace in the garden. She treasures her lilies as friends, and tends them as soon as she wakes. Her mother and grandmother have also tended the lilies, especially the dramatic and resilient Naked Lady lily.