Guner Sernikli is a government official who, with his wife and their wheelchair bound daughter, has been assigned as the head librarian to this isolated province, virtually an exile since there is no library in the village. The family is warmly welcome, but these are the years of political anarchy and leftist/rightist clashes in big cities and the youth of the village inevitably follow the tides. They arrive in Vizontele, just as the situation is becoming really absurd. Guner brings wisdom; his daughter Tuba brings beauty, innocence and love. Some like the Mayor, Nazmi Dogan and crazy Emin appreciate these things but they are in the minority and confusion continues to reign. The story is based on the memories of writer-director Yılmaz Erdoğan of the last summer of his childhood in Hakkâri, Turkey in 1980.

The most famous thing about Bitlis, as evoked by the song "Bitlis'te 5 minare" (Five Minarets in Bitlis), is the unique atmosphere of this small city, famous for its parched lands, historical fabric, and tobacco. Medine is an elderly woman living with her three adult children—one an imam at a mosque, one a worker at a cigarette factory, and the other a student at a tutoring center—and is overwhelmed by their troubles. The unexpected return of her fourth child, who was involved in pirated CD sales in Istanbul, escalates the problems and pushes the family into an even more untenable situation. In this distant and suffocating city, everyone—from the wounded cow roaming the hills to the imam at the mosque—has an issue related to pride. As the camera draws closer to its characters and events, it reveals that things are not as they seem, sparking our curiosity to understand the truth.

Ozgur is a young woman who is the daughter of a refugee family fled to France. She is born and raised in Paris. After her father Huseyin's death, she comes to Istanbul to fulfill Huseyin's last wish. He wanted to be buried in his own country. But because of September 12 military coup d'etat period, Huseyin is no more a Turkish citizen. So this happens to be a great obstacle for Ozgur. This will force Ozgur to a journey both in Istanbul and herself. In this journey Ozgur will meet with her father's and mother's relatives who are completely different people. Most importantly she will meet with Ferhat who will deeply effect her. This journey will become a confrontation with themselves and 2011's Turkey for Ozgur and Ferhat.

Yusuf and his best friend Memo are pupils at a boarding school for Kurdish boys, secluded in the mountains of Eastern Anatolia. When Memo falls mysteriously ill, Yusuf is forced to struggle through the bureaucratic obstacles put up by the school's repressive authorities to try to help his friend. But by the time the adults in charge finally understand the seriousness of Memo's condition and try to get him to the hospital, the school has been buried under a sudden, heavy snowfall. With no way out and now desperate to reach help, teachers and pupils engage in a blame game where grudges, feelings of guilt and hidden secrets emerge, as time ticks mercilessly on and threatens to run out.