Lovebird

Since I love you, it is my right to give you hell

Vivacious “Lovebird” Feride and Kamran are torn apart by his infidelity but their love survives the test of time, as they are reunited years later on her return from far-flung adventures.

The life of “Lovebird” Feride is shaped by tragedy, heartbreak and romance. She loses her mother at a young age and her officer father goes away to war in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, never to return. She is destined to fall in love with her charming cousin Kamran during breaks from boarding school.

Vivacious and mischievous, Feride’s character is at odds with what was expected of girls at that time. She earns the nickname “Lovebird”, or Çalıkusu, the title of the classic 1922 novel by Reşat Nuri Güntekin which tells her story. Feride’s tale is testament to the power of love to survive the test of time.

She recalls her youth by candlelight in her diary, the “lonely and ill-tempered lovebird unaware of how to love”. Forced to attend boarding school after being orphaned, Feride spends her holidays with her aunt. It is then that she finds romance with her older cousin Kamran.

He is won over by Feride’s spirited character and it seems they are destined for a happy life together. But after they become engaged, the pain of love begins the night before their wedding. Feride discovers her fiancé has been unfaithful and her dream is torn apart.

Feride runs away to begin a new life as a teacher in the far reaches of Anatolia. She moves from town to town, fleeing either malicious colleagues or the unwanted attention of men attracted by her beauty and spirit. She remains desperately in love with Kamran and never truly gets over him.

They loved in silence, putting up walls and withholding their hearts from each other. After Feride departs and has new far-flung adventures, Kamran remains besotted with her. Their love story resumes when she finally returns to her hometown and faces Kamran for the first time in many years.

During her time away, she gets married and adopts a little girl, who sadly dies. She discovers Kamran has married the woman with whom he cheated. But when Feride returns to visit her aunt and sees Kamran again, she discovers he is now widowed. Kamran has never got over Feride and painfully regrets cheating on her.

He confesses he only married after hearing false rumors that Feride was in love with another man. Feride reveals that her husband has died. For all her vivacity, Feride is also full of hope and patience, while Kamran’s strength is his courage and faith.

Whichever remote corner of Anatolia Feride sets foot on, all roads in the end lead to one place, Kamran. Through perseverance and fidelity in spirit, they find their way back to each other. No matter how far Feride goes, she cannot escape from what is in her heart.