Öte

In this lush, elegant ode to the calming and spontaneous but tension-fraught nature of solo travel, a Black, New York high school teacher backpacks across Turkey, finding ways to connect to this new land, its vistas, and its populace, on her way to meet a friend in Armenia. Thirtysomething New Yorker Lela is on a solo backpacking trip through Turkey, slowly making her way towards a friend waiting in Armenia. Along the way she crosses paths with several strangers and sparks genuine, intimate connections. Upon reaching a mountain village, she meets hotel manager Yusuf—a young man fleeing city life who becomes her guide to his village—and the two stumble into a brief encounter that might be the cure for their restlessness. ÖTE (meaning “beyond” in Turkish) finds beauty in everyday conversation and human connection—along with the gorgeous wonders of the Turkish landscape–and captures the feeling of endless possibilities you can only get on a life-changing vacation. —C.F.