A dwarf lives in a dangerous part of Istanbul and works as a bartender. He keeps a police whistle for protection. One night, he saves a prostitute from a beating by blowing his whistle. He takes her home, where he discovers she is in fact a trans sex worker. Eventually the two become friends.

In the shadowy alleys of Beyoğlu, two marginalized souls forge an unlikely bond. Painting 1990s Istanbul in melancholic hues, Orhan Oğuz’s hauntingly beautiful Whistle If You Come Back makes space for nostalgia and kinship in a world that pushes these profound emotions carelessly away.