Sisters Doing It for Themselves: Deniz Gamze Erguven's Mustang

In this widely acclaimed Turkish film, five siblings filled with beauty and youth find themselves caged – both figuratively, by conservative, patriarchal tradition, and literally, by overprotective relatives. But in emphasising the fundamentally untameable nature of these girls, writes Sarah Ward, Mustang champions formidably, albeit quietly, the potential for women to resist subjugation.

Additional keywords: world cinema, Turkey, gender, sexism, subjugation, misogyny, oppression, The Virgin Suicides, Frozen, femininity.