When We Leave (Die Fremde) by Feo Aladag

Scene from "When We Leave" (photo © 2008 Independent Artists Filmproduktion/Manfred Horender)

When We Leave (Die Fremde)

What would you sacrifice for your family’s love? Your values? Your freedom? Your independence? German-born Umay flees her oppressive marriage in Istanbul, taking her young son Cem with her. She is hoping to find a better life with her family in Berlin, but her unexpected arrival creates intense conflict. Her family is trapped in their conventions, torn between their love for her and the values of their community. Ultimately they decide to return Cem to his father in Turkey. To keep her son, Umay is forced to move again. She finds the inner strength to build a new life for her and Cem, but her need for her family’s love drives her to a series of ill-fated attempts at reconciliation. What Umay doesn’t realize is just how the wounds have gone and how dangerous her struggle for self-determination has become...

Director Feo Aladag
Screenplay Feo Aladag
Director of Photography Judith Kaufmann
Editor Andrea Mertens
Music by Max Richter
Production Design Silke Buhr
Producers Feo Aladag, Zueli Aladag
Production Company Independent Artists Filmproduktion/Berlin, in co-production with WDR/Cologne, RBB/Potsdam-Babelsberg, ARTE/Strasbourg
Principal Cast Sibel Kekilli, Derya Alabora, Settar Tanrioegen, Nizam Schiller, Tamer Yigit, Serhad Can, Almila Bagriacik, Florian Lukas, Alwara Hoefels, Nursel Koese, Ufuk Bayraktar, Blanca Apilánez
Length 119 min
Format 35 mm, color, cs
Original Version German/Turkish
Subtitled Versions German, English
Sound Technology Dolby SRD
With backing from German Federal Film Board (FFA), BKM, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Filmstiftung NRW, Kuratorium junger deutscher Film
German Distributor Delphi Filmverleih/Berlin

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Feo Aladag was born in 1972 in Vienna. She began her career as an actress, completing her training in London and Vienna from 1990-1995. While studying Acting she completed a Master in Psychology and Journalism, continuing on to receive her PhD in 2000. She acted in numerous acclaimed film and television productions while attending various master-classes and directing seminars at the European Film Academy as well as the German Film and Television Academy. During this time she also maintained a successful career as a scriptwriter and commercial film director. In 2005, Feo Aladag founded the production company Independent Artists, responsible for her debut as the producer, director and writer of When We Leave (Die Fremde, 2009).