World premiere

Empire of the Rabbits

Local title
Jäneste impeerium
Title in Russian
Империя кроликов
Original title
Tavşan İmparatorluğu
Director
Seyfettin Tokmak
Country
Türkiye, Mexico, Croatia
Year
2024
Programme
Official Selection - Competition
Genre
Drama
Subject
abuse, child-parent relationships, rural life

Musa lives with his father, Beko, in rural Turkey. Beko, struggling to make ends meet by assisting in rabbit-hound races, is lured by the promise of a government disability pension for Musa if he can prove his son's “disability” with a medical report. To pass as disabled, Musa must learn to mimic the mannerisms of people with physical disabilities from Nergis, a girl his age. Together, the two children form an enduring friendship as they navigate their plight.

As the suppression of their adult world increases, Musa rescues Nergis into his dream of a rabbit empire founded in an old mine with all the rabbits Musa could save from the traps and the hound races. What will Musa and Nergis’s fate be as they fight to save themselves and the rabbits? Will they forever remain lost in a world of fantasy?

Milani Perera

Director
Seyfettin Tokmak
Screenwriter
Seyfettin Tokmak
Cast
Alpay Kaya, Sermet Yeşil, Kubilay Tunçer, Perla Palamutçuoğullari, Emrullah Çakay
Producer
Seyfettin Tokmak, Siniša Juričić, Gabriela Gavica, Carlos Hernández Vázquez, Lara Abou Saifan, Bünyamin Bayansal, İlknur Bal Kutluay
Cinematographer
Claudia Becerril Bulos
Composer
Erkan Oğur
Music
Erkan Oğur
Sound
Cenker Kökten
Runtime
Language
Turkish
Subtitles
Estonian, English
Director
Seyfettin Tokmak

Kirik Midyeler (Broken Mussels, 2011), Tavşan İmparatorluğu (Empire of the Rabbits, 2024)

Screenings

1st Lux Hall Apollo Kino Plaza
Screening070101 / Jäneste impeerium
SubtitlesEnglish, Estonian
Q&A guestsSeyfettin Tokmak (Director, Producer, Screenwriter), Bünyamin Bayansal (Producer), Sermet Yeşil (Cast), Perla Palamutçuoğullari (Cast)
Q&A duration
Screening duration
2. Hall Apollo Kino Tasku, TARTU
Screening084302 / Jäneste impeerium
SubtitlesEnglish, Estonian
Screening duration
Hall 1 Kino Artis
Screening132101 / Jäneste impeerium
SubtitlesEnglish, Estonian
Additional infoThe film is introduced by Andrea Kink, an expert on domestic violence and long-time manager of the Social Insurance Board's Victim Support Service for Women and other developments in victim support.
Screening duration
Trailer