A young man from rural Turkey arrives in Istanbul with dreams of working on a ship and stays with a cousin while he searches for work. Over time, the former’s struggles to find employment and the latter’s troubles and disappointments strain their relationship and living situation.

A cab driver, a teahouse owner and an out-of-work journalist live in a down-at-heel suburb of Ankara. When the driver tells his friends tales of the murky and unlawful dealings of his passengers, they install a camera to record the passengers.

An aspiring filmmaker visits his parents and begins to devise a movie. Amidst creating and casting for the film, he encounters with family & friends who struggle with their own problems, dreams and life.

This is the directorial debut of Muzaffer Ozdemir, Palme d'Or awarded actor of Uzak / Distant (2002) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and also an actor in the Ceylan films Kasaba / The Small Town (1997) and Clouds of May (1999). Dogan, a pessimistic and neurotic architect, falls ill while camping with his friends nearby Istanbul. His doctor advises traveling. Longing for his homeland, Dogan sets off on a short break to the town of his childhood, whence he did not have the opportunity to visit since years. But not even the countryside has escaped the homogenizing concrete web cast by the modern technological age and liberal mentality inimical to the Earth.

A story in four parts is told from the perspective of two children, showing life in school, in nature, with family and at home. All of this unfolding along with the seasons. The Small Town depicts life in the village, while also portraying the relationships between members of a small-town family, in a long centerpiece scene around a campfire with family members talking about the past, life and its disappointments. Both brother and sister witness the complexities and darkness of the adult world, as well as the mysteries of nature and wildlife.