Jolly LifeMovies like Jolly Life
- Key Features:
- Santa Claus, Cultural identity, Finding purpose, Struggles, Redemption, Self-discovery, Character transformation, Feel-good, Human connection, Slice of life
- Tone:
- humorous, earnest
- Target Audience:
- Families, People seeking heartwarming stories, Those interested in cultural themes, Viewers who enjoy character-driven narratives
- Emotional Arc:
- Disconnection → Connection
Jolly Life

Burdened by troubles and caught between cultures, Riza takes a job as a mall Santa and finds that real life may not be so different from make believe.
Jolly Life
Entrenched in a midlife crisis, Aziz seeks solace from his mundane job, lonesome friends and rowdy family while pretending to have his act together.

Rıfkı, who lives in Germany, returns to his village, which he left years ago, to sell the properties inherited from his late father. A few coincidences that occur upon his arrival in the village lead to his name being associated with the 'Saint' title.

Bored with her life and inspired by a friend's wedding, Esra quits her job and dumps her boyfriend, leading to a series of romantic misadventures.

He is a civil servant in the bland state office. His whole life changes when his reports get mixed up in the hospital and he gets news that he's going to die very soon.

Sinan is sent to Capadocia by his boss, Isfendiyar to write a screenplay. As he waits for inspiration, Sinan finds himself running first into Eylul, the daughter of Izzet, who owns the hotel where he's booked to stay, and then into soap opera star Faruk, his former good friend and present enemy. It isn't long before cabdriver Lokman, who declares himself Sinan's 'chauffeur' and Arif, a local farmer and horse breeder, are part of both Sinan's life and his screenplay. Although plentiful adventures among the magical fairy chimneys, colorful balloons and at the annual grape festival become like a movie for all involved, the happy ending awaited by the boss, Isfendiyar never happens. But the boss insists on his happy ending. And Sinan has to write that ending!

The story of a minibus driver and a fairytale princesss nestling under the wing of timeless friendship in an ordinary neighborhood.

Everyone has different expectations of summer. And Comedy Kitchen: Holiday Recipes has a place for them all.

1960s Turkey countryside. A newly assigned teacher finds out that the solitary village is missing a school. He gets fond of the village people and especially a disabled man. The teacher helps the village to build a new school and educate the children and the disabled man.

The neurotic Fikret and tavern singer Solmaz, whose 21 year long relationships end on the same day, meet through a funny coincidence. When Solmaz's daughter Zeynep decides to marry her lover from Adana, the ever-fearful Fikret ends up having to play the role of his life. Intended at first to be kept in the family, the wedding becomes a much bigger event upon the insistence of the groom's relatives. Can our heroes come to terms with the traditional Adana family who carry guns and own a kebab restaurant chain, and see the wedding through without mishaps?

One night, a burglar in a Santa Claus costume is surprised by Victor, a young boy who believes he is the real Santa Claus. Victor then follows him, and they embark on an unexpected adventure that will change their lives.

A tragicomedy dramatizing how an innocent villager is driven into the crime world only to collect enough cash to make his biggest dream come true: Return to his village home and marry the girl next door.

Ismail's son, Tarik returns to his village after long years of being away and announces that he is engaged to a Latvian woman named Nugesha and although he doesn't have the means for it, Ismail still wants to be the one who pays for the expenses of the wedding. Several problems ensue as he tries to make sure that there is enough money for the wedding.

A romantic comedy told with a set of interwoven Christmas tales about life, love, forgiveness and caring. A heroic vagrant becomes a TV sensation Santa Claws, while a prince takes a menial job at a department store to woo his sweetheart.

Days before Eid, a salesman fired from his job drives to meet his girlfriend's family, but the trip goes astray due to his zany travel buddy.

A man finds the wallet of a rich man and takes a rigorous trip in an old car to return it, finding an old love and a new life of luxury awaiting.

A young man from rural Turkey arrives in Istanbul with dreams working on a ship and stays with a cousin while he searches for work. Over time, the former’s struggles to find employment and the latter’s troubles and disappointments strain their relationship and living situation.

Zuhtu, a nosy hawker who sells meatballs, one night finds a young girl escaping from her cruel relatives. He intends to help the girl but this costs him too much.

The story takes place in the small town of Hakkari in Turkey at the beginning of the '70s. The time has come to bring technology to that small town. The first Television (called Visiontele by the citizens) arrives and the chaos begins.

A struggling, suicidal young comedian meets a car thief who is willing to teach him a few things about his profession.

Guner Sernikli is a government official who, with his wife and their wheelchair bound daughter, has been assigned as the head librarian to this isolated province, virtually an exile since there is no library in the village. The family is warmly welcome, but these are the years of political anarchy and leftist/rightist clashes in big cities and the youth of the village inevitably follow the tides. They arrive in Vizontele, just as the situation is becoming really absurd. Guner brings wisdom; his daughter Tuba brings beauty, innocence and love. Some like the Mayor, Nazmi Dogan and crazy Emin appreciate these things but they are in the minority and confusion continues to reign. The story is based on the memories of writer-director Yılmaz Erdoğan of the last summer of his childhood in Hakkâri, Turkey in 1980.

Mukhtar Yusuf Ağa’s unregistered village in eastern Anatolia has been championed through letters to government officials, and his lost son İbrahim, rescued and registered by Father Hana, is finally returning at age 30 with his American love Jessica; the question is whether Tinne can become their true homeland.

The funny little details of everyday life, simple things that make us laugh. An unforgettable performance from Cem Yilmaz. Yilmaz captures the audience with his hilarious stories about relationships, humankind's struggle with the technology and professional life. Yilmaz proves us that a food delivery or even a funeral might be amusing when considered correctly. Written by Elmalma Brand Communication

Hüseyin is a young man who lives with his grandfather and grandmother in a village in Thracian Turkey. The two great loves of his life are his clarinet and Müjgan, a nurse. Although Hüseyin is content with his life, with his music and dreams of Mügan, due to an unexpected development he leaves his village. He ends up in Istanbul where he finds support first in his clarinet and then in the friendship of the singer Firuzan. Firuzan is a popular nightclub performer who is eagerly working on an album as she leads a colorful but complicated life. When Firuzan meets Huseyin, the course of events gives away to a hilarious adventure.

On Christmas Eve, Greg, a solitary and taciturn police officer, doesn't hesitate to leave his daughter behind to go on a mission. To teach him a lesson, Santa Claus decides to grant his daughter's wish: that her father looks like Richard Silestone, the good-natured and heavily indebted family man from the beloved Christmas movie she adores. While Greg is sent into this improbable world, Richard accidentally lands in the real world and both men realize they have no choice but to complete each other's missions to reclaim their respective lives.

A robbery leaves a proprietor penniless before his wedding, but becoming a son-in-law to a second family might be the financial solution he needs.

In a small town in Anatolia, whose inhabitants possess various supernatural powers but still have to deal with ordinary problems, Cemal helps out in his father’s barbershop and, in his free time, acts as a football referee.

Christmas is on its way and with it disaster. The 92,000 responsible for manufacturing children's toys all become sick at the same time! It's a tough moment for Santa, better known as Father Christmas. He's left no choice: he must make an emergency trip to Earth with his reindeer to search for a remedy. When he arrives, he must find some allies to save the magic of Christmas.

When his grandfather suddenly falls ill, holiday-hating Jules learns of his family's magical legacy and realizes he's the only hope to save Christmas.

Celal, lives an unhappy family life with his wife Sevilay and his child in a small town. Celal and his brother Cemal, running an electrician shop which doesn't go well. They are in debt. The only fun they have is going to the night clubs in Samsun. Celal's love for Sibel Ceylan who works in the night club, will cause him trouble. Celal's wife, Sevilay, saves her money, sent by her father who lives in Germany. She is unaware of the fact that Celal knows her secret.

On Christmas Eve, divorced dad Scott Calvin and his son discover Santa Claus has fallen off their roof. When Scott takes the reins of the magical sleigh, he finds he is now the new Santa, and must convince a world of disbelievers, including himself.

Yusuf is released from prison after serving a ten year sentence. Because of unexpected problems at his sister’s house, he finds himself in a cheap hotel where he meets a man, a woman, and a child who will change his life in unexpected ways…

Şaban, who works as a clerk in a factory, is madly in love with Bahar, who works as a secretary in the same factory and attends university thanks to the financial support of the famous oil tycoon Adnan Bıçakçı. However, Bahar has her eye on the famous athlete Erkan. After Adnan Bıçakçı reveals that Bahar is his granddaughter, she is kidnapped by gangsters. However, the only person who tries to rescue her is not her boyfriend Erkan, but Orta Direk Şaban.

Man was made to be happy for simple reasons and unhappy for even simpler ones – just as he is born for simple reasons and dies for even simpler ones... Isa and Bahar are two lonely figures dragged through the ever-changing climate of their inner selves in pursuit of a happiness that no longer belongs to them.

The story of a guard who revolts because of exploiting reeve and tradespeople. People start to think he has an uncle working in the ministry of the interior.

Aydın is a hotel owner and a retired actor in rural Turkey. As winter emerges he begins navigating the conflicts within the relationships with his wife, sister and existence.

Years after a divorce divides their family in half, six siblings encounter each other by chance and try to get their parents back together.

Temmuz is an openly gay sculptor living at a flat with his dog in Istanbul. He lives a bohemian lifestyle and has a happy go lucky, carefree, eccentric (such as believing in good luck charms) character, frequently distracting him from his work as a children's book illustrator, and eventually leading him to be abandoned by his boyfriend via e-mail. He is given solace and affection by her wealthy mother, who is fully supportive of him, and best friend and co-worker, Beste. In the meantime, he keeps seeing a young man in his dreams, who repeatedly calls him for help and rescue. One day he runs into this guy while getting on the bus, who is accompanied by his mother, and helps them get into their home as the young man was born without limbs. From then on, two lives would collide into each other, starting a brotherhood full of discoveries and mutual help.

At 2 Ela lost her ability of seeing and hearing because of a severe illness. And then she became a total disappointment of her family due to her untamed behaviors. But everything changed after an unorthodox teacher stepped into their lives to educate Ela while healing himself.

A woman desperately seeking for a man to love. When he finally arrives, she overlooks him.

Baran the Bandit, released from prison after serving 35 years, searches for vengeance against his former best friend who betrayed him and stole his lover, teaming up with a young punk with his own demons along the way.

Cubelles, Tarragona, Spain, Christmas 1985. Five friends make an unexpected discovery in the forest: a woman disguised as Santa Claus trapped in a deep hole dug in the middle of nowhere.

Ettore has spent the last five years in jail for a robbery. Once out of prison, he has nowhere to go, his wife broke up with him and doesn’t want him to meet their little daughter who was born right before he was arrested. Alone and desperate, Ettore roams the streets of Rome and meets a strange old man, Nicola. He decides to take advantage of him and rob him. But after breaking into his house, Ettore realizes Nicola doesn’t have anything worth stealing and furthermore, the old man tells him a rather stranger thing: he affirms to be Santa Claus…

Pirated DVD seller Zafer who is formerly an extra in movies, swore to give up illegal works when his wife wanted to get divorce. To win his family back, he and his old-fashioned crew decided to make a movie called "Summit - The End Of Evil" which is a fantastic science fiction movie and couldn't be shot since 1977. A funny, entertaining and emotional journey awaits him who waded into this adventure with his unqualified crew.

Failed magician Iskender decides to do a tour to save his career, but has to bring his grumpy and senile father along. The tour is quite unexpectedly interrupted when a bride actually disappears from the stage.

A traditional Turkish woman tries to find love and is forced by her family members to get married.

A biopic about the Turkish vocal artist Müslüm Gürses. Born into a poor household, Muslum found his redemption in music from the initial trauma that lingered over his musical and personal life as internalizing the grief. He rose through his ashes of shattered dreams like a phoenix. He walked in darkness, sang songs filled with sorrow which stirred people's souls and created a cult following. They were calling him "Baba" (The Father).

A peaceful Christmas Eve is interrupted when a thief breaks into a villa. When the family’s little daughter mistakes him for Santa Claus and asks him to fulfill her Christmas wish, he will be forced to perform a miracle that will redeem secrets from the past.

Hüsnü is a lovestruck young man determined to win the heart of his neighborhood’s beauty, Hüsniye, and enlists his friend’s dubious tactics to no avail. When a thug seizes the neighborhood deeds and forces everyone to flee, Hüsnü tries to become the local tough guy to save his community and impress Hüsniye, but his bravado draws the attention of a hired killer.

After the death of his wife and father, Kudret, who has always lived by the book, decides to go on a road trip to save a girl.

A young actor's perfect life takes a madcap turn when she agrees to star in a commercial — and suddenly gets transported to her character's world.

Fresh out of university, a Turkish young man with literary aspirations returns to his home village, and to his father, a debt-ridden man with a gambling problem.

Celal, who dreams of achieving happiness as a ladies' man and charmer, soon gets into difficulties and suffers misfortune. Back when Celal was in a relationship, he was jealous of the life of a bachelor.

A poet, who works as a waiter to make ends meet, postures as a female singer to end a blood feud between two families.

This is the story of the politician named Zübük. He gets expelled from the political party that he is a member of, due to corruption. The journalist Yaşar wants to make a news story about his case and investigates Zübük's doings. Yaşar gets baffled at the sly tricks Zübük played on his village people. In the end, he feels sorry about Zübük's present situation, however, as things happen he becomes aware that Zübük has been tricking him.

In an eastern Turkish town, suitors knock on the door of the mayor and father of three beautiful daughters who choose to follow their own paths.

To keep the band together, Selly tries to earn money by making an appearance at the birthday party of a mobster's daughter - until he gets kidnapped.

Kirk is enjoying the annual Christmas party extravaganza thrown by his sister until he realizes he needs to help out Christian, his brother-in-law who has a bad case of the bah-humbugs.

Lisa thinks she's finally met the man of her dreams until she finds out he still believes in Santa Claus.

Kemal, unaware that his father is a mafia boss, sells cotton candy at train stations. After his father is killed, his inheritance is divided. Kemal begins visiting the establishments of Istanbul's most notorious thugs one by one to reclaim his father's inheritance, and gradually gains a reputation.

A love story between a poor man and a rich girl. The rich girl's father tries to prevent their marriage and he declares a war against the poor boy's family.

Ali Senay and Ilber, the two partners of Senay Cüccaciye, sell garden dwarfs. When their company starts to dwindle, they decide to participate in a gardening fair in Sofia with the plan to meet new people from the sector in an attempt to drum up new business. Things don't go as planned as they find themselves crossing paths with the wrong people hell bent on causing world chaos.

Ahead of a promotion, a police chief becomes entangled in a deadly incident and uncovers an intrigue fueled by grudge that threatens his colleagues.

Ismail and his old screwball crew land themselves in hot water when his grandson's circumcision evolves into a buzz-making citywide event.

After serving time in prison for his brother's crime, a man warily reunites with family, finding hope and healing in a life-changing bond with his niece.

So begins an entertaining road story where we witness two brothers with different cultural backgrounds, who don't even know each other, have similarities, differences and even their fights.

Four Italian men are suddenly involved in awkward situations, while they are spending the Christmas holiday, stuck in Amsterdam.

Sara invites her ex-husbands and their new families to celebrate Christmas with her and her husband Janne. Sara has always wanted to have a baby with Janne, and at the dinner table she reveals the news: she's pregnant. The only problem is that Janne had a vasectomy two years ago, without Sara knowing it. The secret starts to spread among the guests, and in no time everyone knows but Sara. The party heads for a complete disaster. Who's the real father?

An ingenuous countryman Ali Nazik migrates to Istanbul and meets producer Mr. Muhsin to have his first album.

When Lucy Cullins, a successful but cranky producer at a home shopping network hires an actor named Nick to play Santa Claus on the network, she gets more than she bargained for.

In early 1970s, Adem is a boy living in an Aegean village with his family. He just finished the primary school and he wants to work while he's on summer holiday. He gets permission from his family to work for a soda pop seller named Ciber Kemal. But the Ramadan has just came and Adem wants to do his fast while he's working. But he starts seeing hallucinations because of the hot summer day. It seems it's going to be the longest day of Adem.

Apti is a simple minded village man and he believes what is happening around him by chance is actually his doing. He becomes famous by beating a feared man and everyone starts to respect him than he meets a singer and an action-love story starts.

A selfish postman and a reclusive toymaker form an unlikely friendship, delivering joy to a cold, dark town that desperately needs it.

Life is tough for Geyikli clarinetist Huseyin Badem after marrying his true love, Mujgan. He must grab every opportunity that comes his way to take care of his expanding family, even if it means playing clarinet by night for dingy clubs in the area.

Two soldiers return home from their military service in southeastern Turkey with disabilities.

Pitch, the mean-spirited devil, is trying to ruin Christmas. Santa Claus teams up with Merlin the Magician and the children of the world in order to save the day!

Salih and Gürkan, two cousins from Ankara, are struggling musicians that are trying to make a living by performing at private events such as bachelorette parties. Nihat, a low profile event manager, finds a gig for the duo which leads them to encounter with unexpected guests in their "dressing room".

A curse is placed on grinchy Chuy, who wakes up to find he's lived a full year, but is doomed to remember only Christmas Day. Every year. From now on.

Santa doesn't want to retire, but rules are rules and he must train someone to replace him. The lucky winner, to be chosen from among millions of children, must be named Nicholas, be an orphan and have a pure heart. On the other side of the planet, there is a little boy who is a perfect match, but his lack of self-confidence and fear of heights make him a poor contestant. Will Santa agree to step down, and help his apprentice take his place?

On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.

In a small Spanish town, during the Christmas holidays, a group of rich old ladies organize a peculiar event that consists of inviting a homeless person to sit down to dinner at their wealthy table. Plácido, a humble worker, is hired by the organizers to participate in a parade with his three-wheeled vehicle, a seemingly simple mission that will not be easy for him to accomplish.

Two women, one American and one British, swap homes at Christmastime following bad breakups. Each woman finds romance with a local man but realizes that the imminent return home may end the relationship.

On Christmas Eve, three friends dressed as Santa Claus are arrested in what looks like an attempted burglary and charged with being the infamous "Santa Claus Gang". While trying to prove their innocence to the police, the trio explains why they found themselves in such a strange situation...

Joy, a secretary at a large multinational company, has an online shopping problem, likes to read adventure novels and watch travel and adventure shows. She daydreams about living a life of adventure.

"Christopher's Christmas Mission"- A tale about a boy who steals Christmas gifts from the wealthy to give to the poor people of Stockholm, while working in a post office on Christmas Eve.

After living 45 years in Germany, the Turkish Hüseyin Yilmaz, seventy, announces to his family that he has bought a house in Turkey and they should return to make the necessary reforms. The idea is unwelcome and causes very heated discussions. In addition, Canan, a granddaughter of Hüseyin, announces she is pregnant and the father is her English boyfriend, and no one knew anything.

In a small, poor village leaning over high rocky mountains, the villagers are simple and diligent people who struggle to cope with a harsh nature. They earn their living off the earth and a few animals they feed. Fathers always prefer one of their sons. Mothers command their daughters ruthlessly. Ömer, the son of the imam, wishes hopelessly for the death of his father. When he understands that wishful thinking does not have any concrete results, he begins to search for childish ways to kill his father. Yakup is in love with his teacher, and one day after seeing his father spying on the teacher he dreams too, like Ömer, of killing his father. Yıldız studies and tries to manage the household chores imposed by her mother. She learns with irritation about the secrets of the relationship between men and women.

Country bumpkin Şaban Ağa has long dreamed of winning the heart of Peri, the high-society belle he plans to marry, though she doesn’t even know he exists. Spurned when Peri agrees to wed him for his money then flees back to city life, Şaban reinvents himself as the sophisticated Dilaver Bey to exact his sweet revenge.

The title refers to those strange coincidences that happen to us sometimes and that seem inevitable, like a product of destiny. Inspired by the experience of a Canarian child victim of cancer, the film is conceived as a Christmas story.

The Three Wise Men, fed up with Santa taking more and more prominence from them, have decided to confront each other without knowing that this war will awaken a much more dangerous common enemy, the Krampus, who had been inactive for centuries.

Seeking job opportunities, a young man arrives in Cairo and becomes increasingly involved with the family of a wealthy businessman.

Sascha, the young and beautiful trophy girlfriend of a Danish drug lord, arrives at his holiday villa in the seaside town of Bodrum, on the Turkish Riviera, where she is welcomed into his inner circle. Under the summer sun, she lives a carefree dream of luxury and fun until she meets Tomas, a Dutch traveler trying to discover himself.

Sometimes, life just seems to hand you exactly what you need – particularly at Christmastime. Riley is scraping bottom when she miraculously lands a job with a wealthy New York City entrepreneur. He’s a bad-boy socialite type who is poised to play Scrooge by closing one of his factories just before Christmas, which would devastate an entire town. It’s left to Riley to talk him out of it and turn him into a man of virtue rather than shame.

A few days before Christmas, having quit his job in Germany, Matthias returns to his Transylvanian village. He wishes to involve himself more in the education of his son, Rudi, left for too long in the care of his mother, Ana, and to rid him of the unresolved fears that have gripped him. He’s also eager to see his ex-lover Csilla and preoccupied about his old father, Otto. When a few new workers are hired at the small factory that Csilla manages, the peace of the community is disturbed, underlying fears grip the adults, and frustrations, conflicts and passions erupt through the thin sliver of apparent understanding and calm.

Working in a ferry as a waiter, Ayzek, having a defect with his front teeth, dreams to get his front teeth fixed and to marry his girlfriend, Songül. The news gets out that the ferry company is turning over the management to a new one and the whole crew is to be interviewed. When the interviewer arrives on board, Ayzek’s world is turned upside down.

Based on a true story set in 1948, customs officer Mehti is faced with the duty of formally setting up the border between Turkey and Syria, dividing his hometown. He is unaware of the pain that will eminently unfold, as families, languages, cultures and lovers are both ripped apart and clash head on in a village once united.

Young Pietari lives with his reindeer-herding father in arctic Finland. On the eve of Christmas, a nearby excavation makes a frightening discovery and an evil Santa Claus is unleashed…

Hanzo, who was lost as a baby and raised by bears in the wild forest, behaving like them, is captured one day by a group that comes to the village for excavation.

Three strangers with one thing in common — the same father — come to a Turkish village to bury him, and learn about him and each other.

