All "instruments of corruption" -- including cellphones and computers --are removed from the house and the girls are literally kept prisoner in the home while they are taught how to cook and keep house in preparation for marriage.
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Even though that incident took place in the 1990s, "it resonates with Turkey today," she said.
"Turkey is a very dynamic country," she said. "It was quite revolutionary. Turkey has had peaks of modernity. Women have been voting since 1930. The laws of the country protect women."
The changes in Turkey were a driving force behind her desire to make "Mustang."
A month before she started shooting, the married filmmaker learned she was pregnant. A week later, the film's main French producer bailed. "It was crazy," she recalled. "The film was dead."
susan.king@latimes.com
