Defne Halman

Acting

Defne Halman

Born 1972-05-13 · New York, New York, USA

Acting credits

Housewife poster
5.4

Housewife is centered on Holly whose mother murdered her sister and father when she was seven. 20 years later and slowly losing her grip on the difference between reality and nightmares, she runs into a celebrity psychic who claims that he is destined to help her.

Housewife

2017

Five Minarets in New York poster
5.5

Two Turkish anti-terrorist agents are sent to New York City on a mission to find and bring back the dangerous Islamic leader codenamed "Dajjal", believed to be hiding in there. Working with the FBI and NYPD, the agents orchestrate the arrest of Hadji Gumus, a well-respected Muslim scholar and family man who years before fled to the United States after being released from a Turkish prison, where he served time for murder. This tale love, friendship, peace and prejudices, takes us on a journey seeking to answer the question of whether innocence or guilt even matters to one who lusts for vengeance.

Five Minarets in New York

2010

Yusuf of Kuyucak poster
5.2

An idealist district governor, Selahattin Bey, adopts Yusuf, orphaned after his family was killed by thugs. Yusuf falls in love with Muazzez, the daughter of Selahattin. But when Hilmi Bey’s son Şakir also wants to marry Muazzez, a conflict escalates.

Yusuf of Kuyucak

1985

Fidan poster
NR

Ramazan, together with his children, migrate to the big city, Istanbul in order to give them a better life. His daughter Fidan begins working as a clerk at a shop. But she could not adapt to the life of big city. She runs away with the son of the shop owner. Ramazan searches for his daughter, but the big city already has corrupted his daughter

Fidan

1984

Coastliners poster
NR

Coastliners puts the theme of “human rights” together with different stories, and consists of five short fiction films made by internationally acclaimed different directors. We accompany the personal effects of refugees washed ashore, the peculiar story of an assaulted young man, a mother and daughter who take refuge in a house when bombs sound on the Syrian border, a hero stuck in the hurly burly of Istanbul, trying to overcome obstacles; and the her spiritual journey of a pregnant woman trying to return to her village from where she was cast away.

Coastliners

2016

Lifelong poster
5.6

Nisantasi is a classy Istanbul residential district. Its inhabitants may be rich and beautiful but they are not necessarily happy. This is the case for 52-year-old architect Can and his wife Ela, an artist who is already past her creative prime. Their daughter Nil has left home to study in Ankara. Left to their own devices, the couple realise that their passion for each other is not what it once was. Nonetheless they both feel secure in the safe harbour of a marriage which places no demands for critical questions or complex explanations. One day, Ela happens to overhear her husband talking on the phone. (Berlinale.de)

Lifelong

2013

Entanglement poster
7.0

As woodsmen, brothers Kemal and Cemal struggle with an uncertain future, living in a house inherited by their father, on the outskirts of a village. Kemal has always been a father to his brother. Nalân, arrives one day with Kemal, and adopts the house as her own. Her presence soothes Cemal, who's shaken by his mother’s death.

Entanglement

2015

Kırlangıç Fırtınası poster
10.0

Kemal, who lives with his family in a small town, wants to go to Istanbul. He dreams of continuing his father's profession of shoemaking there. However, his father opposes Kemal's wish. Determined to leave the town, Kemal waits for his father to be persuaded. During this time, he falls in love with Gönül, a teacher in the town. Eventually, Kemal's father relents. Kemal moves from the town to Istanbul, where he will strive to realize his dreams.

Kırlangıç Fırtınası

1985

How to Save Asiye poster
6.4

After receiving a letter from a woman named Asiye asking for help to save her, the President of the Associations Against Prostitution visits the brothel to save Asiye. However, she finds herself in a strange musical show.

How to Save Asiye

1987

You Can Do It, My Dear! poster
6.3

Throughout his impressive acting career, Haldun Dormen inspired and encouraged his theater students to work hard and follow their dreams.

You Can Do It, My Dear!

2022

The Neighborhood poster
5.0

A well-located but poor district in Istanbul, surrounded by gardens, flowers, and trees, is to be leveled by a construction company in order to be able to build higher-quality real estate there. There is resistance to these plans, especially among young people in the neighborhood.

The Neighborhood

2022