Istanbul, a metropolis at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, has always been a way station for the merchants and travellers of the world. Today, for migrants from Africa and the Middle East, it is a gateway to the promised land of Europe. Syrian and Iraqi refugees, cosmopolitan youth seeking a better future, disillusioned Arab Spring supporters and undocumented migrants from Black Africa all congregate in cramped hives of activity: the city's callshops. Found on every street corner, these businesses provide a vital link to the migrant's home countries.

A film by Hind Benchekroun & Sami Mermer

Québec - 2015 - documentary, 1h36 min - Arabic, Wolof, Kurdish, Samire, French, English, Turkish - with subtitles in English



a 2016 96-minute documentary film by two film directors, the Moroccan-Canadian Hind Benchekroun and Turkish-Kurdish-Canadian Sami Mermer