Aysel is a religious Muslim who for many years has led a sheltered life as a housewife and mother in the provincial south of Germany. When she learns that the state theatre in Stuttgart is looking for non-professional actresses for the tragedy “Medea”, she see it an opportunity to escape from her tedious everyday existence – and so she auditions for a part. What initially sounds like a little bit of change in Aysel’s life soon proves to be a hard challenge to her view of the world. The director Volker Lösch wants to use the boundless freedom offered by theatre to penetrate the at times highly secretive world of Muslim women. As the stage adaptation develops, Aysel finds herself confronted by the tragic stories of life endured by other Muslim women, existences that up to now she only knows through hearsay. And as the only woman in the production wearing the Muslim headscarf, she is obliged to defend her values and lifestyle to other more modern Turkish women involved. Torn between her desire for freedom and her own traditions, Aysel gets entangled in a conflict with her beliefs and is forced to question her life to date. Aysel begins to struggle with the clichés, with the “immorality” in the theatre – and ultimately with her very self.

With:

Aysel Kilic , Annabella Akcal, Hülya Özkaner, Selda Vogelsang, Volker Lösch, Beate Seidel, Suzan Ögünc, Fatma Gülcan Genc, Leyla Ibaoglu, Ruhsar Aydogan, Yasmin Sen, Bernd Freytag, Lale Asasi, Aynur Sahin, Nuray Kahraman, Senay Yilamz, Sebnem Maier,Tülay Deniz, Jessica Foitzik, Serap Yadigar

In a staging of the drama MEDEA by Euripides, translated by Peter Krumme, at the Staatstheater Stuttgart

Writer & Director:
Thomas Lauterbach

Director of Photography:
Gunther Merz

Editor:
Dominique Geisler

1st Asssitant Editor:
Björn Theilmann

Sound:
Thomas Lauterbach

Sound Mixing:
Markus Schäffler

Mediadesign:
Maria Prinstinger & James Cox

Turkish translation:
Selda Vogelsang

Music:

“Belalim”
Komposition: Zülfü Livaneli
Text: Sezen Aksu & Zülfü Livaneli
AUTOBAHN MUSIK GMBH
with friendly authorization by Zülfü Livaneli

“Halay Enstrumantal”
Komposition: Hasan Yurtseven
with friendly authorization by
Hüseyin und Hasan Yurtseven

Production Assistant:
Agostino Imondi, Jasmin Rothenbücher

Production Manager:
Jochen Dickbertel (SWR)

Creative Producer:
Sonia Otto

Producer:
Arek Gielnik

Editorial Department:
Gudrun Hanke- El Ghomri

Funded by MFG Baden-Württemberg

AWARDS:

DOK Leipzig 2008 – German competition (winner of Golden Dove)

Filmschau Baden-Württemberg 2008 (Prize of the Film Industry Baden-Württemberg)

BaKaFORUM Basel (SRG SSR idée suisse Prix 2009)

Visión du Réel 2009

Canadian International Documentary Festival HOT DOCS 2009

Moscow International Film Festival 2009

Prix Europe 2009 (Honourable Mention) Astra Film Festival Sibiu 2009

MOVE IT Filmfestival Dresden 2009

Festival of German Cinema London and Dublin 2009

WATCH DOCS Human Rights in Film Festival Warsaw 2009

DOX BOX IDF Damascus 2010, Turkish-German FF Nuremberg 2010

DocuDays HRFF Kyiv 2010

Tranzyt Documentary Film Festival

People’s Choice Award “Honourable Mention”
in the Categorie “Best Foreign Documentary longer than 60 Minutes“