LifeLike

Press Screening: SUN, 16 November, 09:30, 6. Väärtkino saal
World Premiere: SUN, 16 November, 15:00, Apollo Kino Plaza, 1st Lux Hall
Screenings: MON, 17 November, 20:30, TARTU Electric Cinema
WED, 19 November, 20:30, Kino Artis, Hall 1

Director Ali Vatansever and main actors are available for interviews.

LifeLike (Bir Arada Yalnız) by writer-director Ali Vatansever is world premiering in the Official Selection – Competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2025. The third feature by Vatansever (Saf, TIFF 2018) reflects on humanity’s repression of mortality and the parallel realities it creates in response.

Lifelike is inspired by the first euthanasia lawsuit in modern Turkey – a father who, after months of a hopeless struggle for a cure, ends his terminally ill son’s life. An act that blurs the lines between mercy and desperation, compassion and crime. It is this moral ambiguity that lies at the heart of the film which approaches the issue with sensitivity yet also with a sense of lightness.

By shooting some scenes inside VRChat – an online virtual reality platform – LifeLike not only tells a timely story but also explores a new cinematic language. VR serves both as a mirror of our physical limitations and as a window into our longing to transcend them. The actors perform as their avatars in real time, with the director present alongside them within this parallel virtual universe. In stark contrast to the film’s factual reality, this virtual world offers endless possibilities, where characters shape their own destinies rather than being constrained by them.

In a post-COVID, post-truth world, where the pursuit of longevity often overshadows humanity’s greatest truth – transience – LifeLike frames its story through three distinct, life-affirming perspectives as a family navigates an impossible situation. The film offers a humanist and non-judgmental exploration of their choices, resisting the temptation of easy answers. It is a story of quiet resilience and the universal, heartfelt search for dignity in both life and death.

SYNOPSIS
On the 20th floor of a social housing, impending death tears a family apart. İzzet, 19, in the final stages of illness, finds solace in VR-Chat. His mother, Reyhan, takes refuge in social media, gaining online fame for her desperate attempts to heal him, while his father, Abdi, a withdrawn school-bus driver, seeks comfort in prayer. Reyhan becomes fixated on a wild plant rumored to cure cancer. Abdi, lost in faith, neglects his work. In his virtual home, İzzet invites a girl to his real one, leading to disappointment and a failed suicide attempt. The family fractures. Abdi converts his school-bus into a room with a view and takes İzzet on the road, using the plant as an excuse. Left behind, Reyhan, drowning in emptiness, gathers neighbors for five o’clock tea. As father and son share precious time together, Abdi changes course, setting off in search of a miracle after all.

Ali Vatansever studied design and film production. As a co-founder of Terminal Film, he develops and directs films that explore human stories with depth and nuance. His second feature, Saf, premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. LifeLike is his third feature. In addition to his filmmaking, Ali blends storytelling with cutting-edge technology in his work on immersive VR experiences. He also teaches Film Production and VR at Koç University. He was trained in screenwriting mentorship at Sources2, and now mentors aspiring filmmakers and immersive artists through m2 Film Lab and KARMA Mixed Reality Lab.

LifeLike features main actors Fatih Al, Esra Kızıldoğan, and Onur Gözeten.

LifeLike is produced by Terminal Film (Turkey), Aktan Görsel Sanatlar (Turkey), Foss Productions (Greece), Da Clique (Romania). In co-production with Tolan Film (Turkey) and Lighting Doctors (Turkey).
Supported by the Turkish Ministry of Culture, TRT (Turkey), ERT (Greece).

LifeLike participated in Meetings on the Bridge (Turkey), MFI (Greece) and Agora WiP.

Production Company:
Terminal Film
Selin VATANSEVER Tezcan
selin@terminal.tr
+90 533 698 6979

115 min. / Turkey, Greece, Romania 2025 / feature

©/CREDITS:

Stills: ©