Sometimes, love stories on screen feel too genuine to be made up , the kind that makes you pause and wonder, did this really happen? Netflix’s Turkish romantic film Make Me Believe (Senden Bana Kalan)_, released in June 2023, is one of those stories. With its quiet seaside setting, nostalgic cinematography, and tender performances, many viewers started asking the same question online:
“Is Make Me Believe based on a true story?”
Let’s dive into where this emotional film really comes from , its origins, the inspiration behind it, and the truth about the world it portrays.
A Film That Feels Real , But Isn’t
At first glance, Make Me Believe looks like a movie drawn straight from life. The plot follows Sahra and Deniz, two young people whose grandmothers secretly scheme to bring them back together after years apart. What begins as an innocent family reunion quickly becomes an emotional journey about rediscovering love, confronting pride, and learning what it means to grow up without losing your heart.
The story feels incredibly intimate , the kind of tale you might overhear in a seaside café in Turkey.
But according to production notes and director’s interviews, the film is not based on a true story. It’s a fictional narrative, written by screenwriter Çağlar Yurt and directed by Evren Karabıyık Günaydin, designed to capture the warmth and imperfection of real relationships.
In other words, Make Me Believe is a make-believe story , intentionally so.
What “Make-Believe” Really Means
The phrase “make-believe” isn’t just the film’s title , it’s the movie’s entire philosophy.
“Make-believe” literally means something imagined to be true. Children use make-believe in play; adults use it to dream, hope, or sometimes to protect themselves from reality. In the context of the movie, it represents how people use imagination to reconnect with lost emotions.
In Make Me Believe, both Sahra and Deniz carry emotional walls built from misunderstanding and fear. Their grandmothers, through their gentle manipulation, force them to “pretend” to get along , until that pretense awakens real feelings again.
It’s a clever play on the term: what begins as pretend becomes painfully real.
The Setting: A Character in Itself
One of the biggest reasons audiences believed the film might be true lies in its stunning realism.
Filmed in Turkey’s Aegean coastal towns, the backdrop plays a central role. According to local reports and film credits, Make Me Believe was primarily shot in Çanakkale, a city known for its peaceful beaches, pine-covered hills, and pastel-colored homes.
This isn’t just a random location , it’s a deliberate choice. Çanakkale symbolizes nostalgia and simplicity, mirroring the film’s emotional tone. The ocean’s calmness, the sound of cicadas, the summer haze , everything about the setting feels lived-in.
The cinematography, led by Korhan Gümüşayak, relies on natural lighting and earthy tones, giving each scene the quiet authenticity of a memory. This realism makes the movie feel like it’s unfolding in a real neighborhood, with real people.
A Love Story Rooted in Familiar Feelings
While Make Me Believe isn’t inspired by an actual couple, its emotional core resonates deeply because it reflects universal experiences.
Nearly everyone has faced a moment of unfinished love , a relationship paused by time, pride, or distance.
Sahra, played by Ayça Ayşin Turan, brings emotional restraint and inner conflict to her character. Deniz, portrayed by Ekin Koç, mirrors her perfectly , a man hiding vulnerability under humor. Their chemistry feels raw because it’s drawn from genuine human emotion, not exaggerated movie tropes.
This is what makes Make Me Believe powerful. It’s not about whether it really happened, but how real it feels to the viewer.
Comparing It to “I Believe” , A Common Mix-Up
Some viewers confuse Make Me Believe with another movie titled I Believe (2017), which follows a young boy who claims to have seen God. That movie, unlike Make Me Believe, was inspired by faith-based themes and drew loose inspiration from personal spiritual experiences of its creators.
However, Make Me Believe stays grounded in romantic fiction, not divine revelation or biographical truth.
It deals with human belief , belief in love, reconciliation, and the power of second chances , rather than religious faith.
Behind the Scenes: How the Story Came Together
The film’s creative process gives more insight into why it feels so personal.
Director Evren Karabıyık Günaydin is known in Turkish cinema for blending modern romantic comedy with heartfelt drama. In interviews, she mentioned wanting to make a story that “feels like a letter to summer love , the kind you never quite forget.”
Screenwriter Çağlar Yurt shaped the script around relatable themes: family interference, emotional distance, and the bittersweet passage of time. Together, the team crafted a story where each smile and silence tells its own truth.
The use of intergenerational characters , two grandmothers orchestrating a love story , adds warmth and humor while grounding the film in family dynamics that Turkish audiences instantly recognize.
Why People Thought It Was a True Story
There are a few reasons why audiences were convinced Make Me Believe was based on real events:
- Authentic Dialogue:
The conversations between characters are natural and unforced, reflecting everyday speech.
No over-dramatized lines, just subtle emotions. - Realistic Setting:
The coastal backdrop doesn’t look like a movie set; it feels like a real town you could visit tomorrow. - Emotional Depth:
The pain of lost love and the humor of meddling elders are universally relatable.
Many viewers saw themselves in Sahra and Deniz’s struggles. - Cultural Detail:
The film integrates Turkish customs , shared meals, family honor, generational expectations , all presented with care, not cliché.
That emotional realism blurred the line between fiction and life, leading many to ask: maybe this really happened to someone?
Themes That Transcend the Screen
At its heart, Make Me Believe is about relearning belief , in people, in love, and in possibility.
It explores how relationships can fade not because love disappears, but because communication does.
The movie gently suggests that love can be rekindled, even if it takes a little deception, patience, and a summer breeze to do it.
Other underlying themes include:
- Forgiveness: Letting go of old wounds to make space for new beginnings.
- Family Influence: How the older generation quietly shapes the destiny of the young.
- Time and Nostalgia: The bittersweet reminder that you can’t return to the past, but you can heal from it.
What Critics Said About Make Me Believe
According to But Why Tho’s review, Make Me Believe succeeds in its warm tone and charming simplicity, even if it doesn’t reinvent the romantic genre. Critics praised the performances of Turan and Koç, calling their chemistry “refreshing and sincere.”
However, the film received mixed reviews for its predictability , a common trait of comfort romances. Still, many agreed that its atmosphere and emotional honesty made it worth watching, especially for fans of Turkish cinema and Netflix romance.
The MTU review echoed similar thoughts, describing the film as a “beautifully shot, emotionally layered love story that reminds viewers of first love’s innocence.”
Is Make Me Believe Based on a True Story?
No , it isn’t.
But it doesn’t have to be.
The movie draws on collective human experience , the memories, regrets, and hopes we all carry.
It’s fiction rooted in emotional truth, which is often what makes a story feel more “real” than reality itself.
In that sense, Make Me Believe lives up to its name.
It makes us believe , not in fact, but in feeling.
The Takeaway
If you came to Make Me Believe searching for a true story, what you’ll find instead is emotional honesty wrapped in imagination.
It’s a story that could have happened, perhaps even did, somewhere , just not in the way the movie tells it.
And maybe that’s the beauty of cinema.
Sometimes the best “true stories” are the ones that never really happened, but still leave us changed by the time the credits roll.
Summary
- Title: Make Me Believe (2023)
- Director: Evren Karabıyık Günaydin
- Writers: Çağlar Yurt, Evren Karabıyık Günaydin
- Main Cast: Ayça Ayşin Turan, Ekin Koç, Zerrin Sümer
- Genre: Romantic Drama
- Filming Location: Çanakkale, Turkey
- Based On: Fictional Story (Not a True Story)
- Themes: Love, forgiveness, nostalgia, and rediscovery
Final Reflection
In a world where audiences constantly search for “true stories,” Make Me Believe reminds us that not all truth comes from facts , some come from emotion.
And when a film can make us feel something genuine, that’s its own kind of truth.
Jessica Savitch, with a deep passion for journalism, brings her expertise to istruestory.com as a dedicated author. MA in Arts & Journalism.