Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Laemmle Monica Film Center, Santa Monica
Ayse is an intimate portrait of a woman doing everything she can to hold her world together. Living on the edges of Istanbul, Ayşe works at a small gas station and cares for her brother Ridvan, who has Down syndrome and depends on her fully. With her father in the hospital and no meaningful support system, she moves through her days carrying more than anyone around her sees. The film follows her through long, quiet moments shaped by exhaustion, tenderness, and resilience. It captures the emotional weight of care work, poverty, and the limited choices offered to women in her position, while holding space for the small sparks of hope that keep her moving. Directed by Necmi Sancak and written by Sancak and Binnur Kaya, Ayse is a grounded, empathetic drama about responsibility, inner strength, and a woman trying to find room for herself in a life that rarely allows it.