Somersault is by turns darkly comic and unsettling as Dervis Zaim turns his camera on a rarely seen side of Turkish life. Mahsun, unemployed and homeless, steals cars to keep warm in winter and sponges off his friends for food. A sympathetic fisherman tries to arrange a job for him but Mahsun's attention soon drifts to Rumelihisar Castle, a tourist attraction of this very old neighborhood, and the fifty peacocks that occupy the grounds. These beautiful birds symbolize prosperity, fertility, and protection from evil. To Mahsun they symbolize all that and more. Shot in cinema verité style, Somersault is a compassionate portrait of a man who just can't get it right, and a gritty look at those left behind when the economy booms.-New Directors/New Films