Rising Turkish filmmaker Belkis Bayrak is prepping her sophomore feature, “A Brighter Word Than Bright,” which she’s presenting this week in the Transilvania Pitch Stop co-production forum of the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival. The director’s debut feature, “Gülizar,” world premiered in Toronto’s Discovery strand and played San Sebastian’s New Directors Competition.

A portrait of grief and resilience, “A Brighter Word Than Bright” follows a young literature teacher who, in an effort to protect the dignity of a grieving woman, serves five years in prison for a death he didn’t cause — only to find upon his release that the official truth has erased his sacrifice. Written by Bayrak, the film is produced by Saba Film (Turkey), Arizona Films (France) and Plan Bee Films (Kosovo).

The film begins in a Turkish military barrack, where Osman, a sensitive young conscript, forms a quiet but powerful bond with his superior, Ziya. In the rigid and masculine world of the army, they find sanctuary in poetry and late-night talks — a safe haven that’s abruptly shattered when Ziya takes his own life.

Aware of the taboo around suicide in Turkish society, Osman decides to take the blame for Ziya’s death to spare his pregnant fiancée the shame, isolation and harsh public censure she would otherwise face. To protect her and the future of her unborn child, Osman makes a silent and heavy sacrifice: he insists that he instigated the suicide and spends five years in prison. The film picks up the thread of their story after his release, when the duo reconnects, and Osman tentatively begins to rebuild his life through a love for literature and teaching.

Speaking to Variety in Transilvania, Bayrak described “A Brighter Word Than Bright” as a film “about two men whose presence — and absence — have marked my life.” It draws on a tragic episode in the director’s past, when her uncle, who served alongside her father in the Turkish Armed Forces, died by suicide — a tragedy that her family has never fully come to terms with. 

Years later, Bayrak said she was the first among them to openly talk about the tragic death, breaking the silence “that still reverberates through my family.” She sees the film not only as a “gesture of remembrance” for her uncle, but an act of empathy towards the wife, children and other loved ones he left behind, insisting: “Filmmaking is a way of resilience for all of us.”

Taking its title from a poem by John Keats, “A Brighter Word Than Bright” was partly inspired by Jane Campion’s “Bright Star,” a biographical romantic drama based on the last three years of the life of the 19th-century poet. Bayrak recalls being touched by Campion’s evocation of the famous romantic poet, a “fragile” soul in which she says she saw glimpses of her father, a man who — much like the lead character, Osman — “managed to overcome life’s challenges with a gentle and restrained nature.”

In order to shape the world of the film, which is set in the 1990s, Bayrak delved into her family archive for inspiration, unearthing old photos and letters to recreate the mood of the time. She said she encountered many “beautiful moments” on this “nostalgic journey,” but could “always feel the loss” of her uncle lingering outside the frame of each photo and beyond the margins of every page.

Bayrak describes her uncle as a man who struggled with his explosive temper, and it is in part the question of masculinity that she hopes to explore, offering “a different representation of male characters” on screen.

“I believe that, today, the definition of ‘male’ and ‘masculinity’ is very problematic. That is a burden for everyone,” she said. “The definition of what is masculinity is changing. It’s more rigid. There is less place for perception, understanding, empathy.

“We’ve seen countless films set in military or war environments that glorify heroism and masculinity. But I have always been drawn to those who stand quietly at the margins whose fragility is not weakness but endurance,” she continued. “Osman is such a character. His story is about the long emotional aftermath of sacrifice, the impossibility of returning to who you once were, and the hesitant rediscovery of tenderness through teaching and art.”

The Transilvania Intl. Film Festival runs June 12 – 21.

Colombian military forces announced on Wednesday they successfully neutralized five members of the militant group responsible for a devastating bus bombing that killed 20 civilians and left 45 others injured.

In a statement from the Military Forces of Colombia, officials said the neutralized suspects were members of the “Estructura Jaime Martínez,” an organized armed group.

In addition to planting the explosives in the municipality of Cajibío, authorities claim the group’s criminal activities included stealing vehicles along the Pan-American Highway and indiscriminately deploying drones loaded with explosives.

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A video shared along with the statement appeared to show body bags laid out in front of a military helicopter and numerous seized weapons.

The military retaliation followed an April 26 terror attack, when an explosive device detonated on a passenger bus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the volatile Cauca region. 

The blast killed 15 women and five men, according to a report from The Associated Press.

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While initial local reports said 36 people were injured, including several children, the Colombian military’s recent update noted that 45 civilians were wounded in the explosion.

Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia’s armed forces, quickly condemned the bus bombing as a “terrorist act.”

He attributed the attack to dissident factions of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), specifically pointing to the Jaime Martínez faction and the network of “Iván Mordisco,” one of the country’s most wanted figures.

The U.N. high commissioner for human rights previously urged authorities to “guarantee justice for the victims.”

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Southwestern Colombia has become a battleground for illegal armed groups vying for control over coca leaf cultivation areas and crucial drug trafficking routes leading to Central America and Europe.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te reiterates his desire for talks based on ‘parity and respect’ with China.

Taiwan’s president has said he hopes the United States approves a $14bn arms sale “as soon as possible”, reiterating that the island “rejects unification” with China.

Taiwan relies heavily on US support to deter any potential Chinese attack, and Washington has put pressure on Taipei to increase its defence spending.

But arms sales also complicate ties between Washington and Beijing. Democratically governed Taiwan is viewed by China as its own territory, and Beijing has ⁠stepped up military and diplomatic pressure on the island.

In May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the $14bn deal was “under review”.

Speaking to the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Taipei on Thursday, Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te reiterated his desire for talks based on “parity and respect” with China, but said only the Taiwanese people can decide their future.

“Taiwan’s safeguarding of its own national security and maintaining its democratic and free way of life, ‌its refusal to accept unification, and its refusal to accept rule by the Chinese Communist Party should not be seen as a provocation against China,” he added.

Taiwan said the US’s commitments to Taiwan have not changed, as it is required under domestic law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. A top US military official said last month Washington was pausing its $14bn arms sale to Taiwan to conserve munitions for its war on Iran.

“We will continue to maintain close communication with the US government, and we also hope the arms purchases can be approved as ⁠soon as possible,” Lai said.

The Taiwanese president has championed increased defence spending, though last month Taiwan’s parliament only approved two-thirds of the $40bn defence budget Lai had proposed, cutting the part that had been meant for drones and domestically produced weapons.

On Thursday, Taiwan’s defence ministry said it was proposing another special ‌defence package worth $210bn new Taiwan dollars ($6.64bn) for surveillance and small unmanned surface drones.

Lai said China should renounce the use of force and its military activities in the Western Pacific, as Taiwan’s arms purchases send an important message to the world that it is willing to defend ‌itself.