Selam

Selam is a Turkish drama film. It was released on March 29, 2013, and it runs for 104 minutes. The film follows the lives of 3 teachers as they leave their loved ones behind to help educate children in rural areas. This epic story directed by Levent Demirkale is based on true events that are taking place in Senegal, Afghanistan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Plot Setting Lake Retba, Senegal The film opens with a Senegalese boy named Khadim being told that his little sister Aya has fallen off the rocks. The parents of the two kids are debating whether to take Aya to the hospital since the hospital is only for the whites, while Khadim and Aya's family is black. The parents quickly decide to go to the "whites" hospital but the hospital is too far away so they were hoping to find a car to give them a lift. A car off a white couple, who are touring the Lake Retba area, does actually pass by but the husband tells his wife to listen to the tour guide, who told them never to stop because they might be robbed. So, the white couple just pass by the black Senegal family of adults screaming for help. Setting Istanbul, Turkey A Muslim, Turkish, woman (Zehra) in a veil is shown in check-in at the airport in Istanbul, when a Muslim man named Harun approaches her, she is surprised and drops her pen and breaks it. Zehra and Harun know each other and might have once been in a relationship. They are both heading to different countries to teach in schools that have been opened by Turkish entrepreneurs. Zehra is heading to Kabul Afghanistan, while Harun is heading to Senegal. They say they're farewells and exchange gifts. Harun gives Zehra a pen since hers is broken, while Zehra gives Harun a tape that she created for him. The scene shifts to a man (Adem) and his pregnant wife (Meltem) and mother (Zeyneb) also saying goodbyes. Adem is also heading to teach in a Turkish school opened by Turkish entrepreneurs in Bosnia.