The first film of Turkish female novelist and screenwriter Isil Özgentürk is based on a highly praised novel, Tanta Rosa by another woman writer, Sevgi Soysal. The heroine comes from a non-Muslim family in the days when Istanbul used to be a melting pot of diverse cultures and religions. We follow Rosa from her childhood in her well-to-do family until her old age, her life changing with the destiny of Istanbul, which serves as a background to this story of life, love and disillusionment. Özgentürk lets the story unfold like a tale from the Arabian Nights, not forgetting to pass along a message or two for female audiences. The film received the Special Jury Prize of the Istanbul Film Festival in 1992 and travelled to major international film festivals.