Based on real events, this story traces a young district governor’s moral awakening as he confronts a powerful landowner in rural Adana. What begins as a routine bureaucratic act soon turns into a struggle to shield villagers from exploitation, greed, and the threat of malaria.

Erdan Kıral’s striking directorial debut distills the brutal tensions of class, land, and authority into a taut, unyielding vision of resistance. Anchored by Tarık Akan’s commanding presence, The Canal boasts a formal rigor that signals the arrival of a major new voice in Turkish cinema.