Sivas is a 2014 Turkish drama film directed by Kaan Müjdeci. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize. The film was selected as the Turkish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated. Plot The film follows an eleven-year-old boy named Aslan (Dogan Izci) and his relationship to a fighting dog, Sivas. The initial scenes show Aslan's life at school and home. Many of the interactions with his classmates and family members display conflict. The teacher (Okan Avci) announces at school that there's to be a performance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves put on by the students. Ayse (Ezgi Ergin), a girl Aslan likes, is selected to be the princess and Aslan's friend Osman (Furkan Uyar) is selected to be the prince. However, Aslan wants the role, mainly to impress Ayse. Later, Aslan tries to convince his teacher to make him the prince. His teacher does not. Echoing the later encounter with Sivas, Aslan is charged with putting his family's old horse out to pasture. He tries to shoo away the horse with stones. One of them leads to the horse falling down, as if dead. Thinking he's killed the animal, Aslan goes to get his brother, Sahin. When they return, the horse is nowhere to be found. Many of the men in the village gather by a secluded stream (to avoid police attention) for a dog fight. Sivas fights another dog, is wounded, and left for dead. Aslan stays back when he notices the dog isn't dead and begs his brother to let him take the dog home. When refused, Aslan stays back when Sahin leaves before night falls. He tries to befriend the dog, trying to move close to him and warm him with his coat. Sahin finally returns in search of Aslan and takes both home. Aslan cares for Sivas as he recovers. He shows off his dog to his friends and attempts to impress Ayse. Goaded by the owner of the dog that had bested Sivas, Aslan lets him fight the other dog again. Sivas emerges victorious. One day, Aslan arrives home to find Sivas tied up. Discovering his family wants to sell the dog, he throws a tantrum. The original owners of Sivas come to make him fight