TIFF 2011 | When We Leave

When We Leave
Feo Aladag
Country: Turkey/Germany
Year: 2010
Runtime: 119 min minutes
Screens as part of Human Rights Watch


Based on a highly publicized honour killing in Berlin in 2005, When We Leave stars Sibel Kekilli as Umay, a young Turkish Muslim woman who courageously decides to leave her abusive husband in Istanbul and join her family in Germany with her young son. Her reunion with her parents and siblings soon reveals that cultural ties are strong and her family’s love is not unconditional. Umay’s struggle for independence in a patriarchal society bound by tradition and pride makes for a passionately dramatic film that provocatively explores issues of family, community values and personal freedom.


See Also

Turkish Cinema Newsletter: Audience Award for Feo Aladag's Die ...

Feb 01, 2011

DIE FREMDE by Feo Aladag, Germany | AUDIENCE AWARD EUROPEAN FEATURE FILMS | 20 000 € (Ville d'Angers, Fondation Groupama Gan pour le Cinéma et Le Monde) to the French distributor for the promotion of the ...

http://turkfilm.blogspot.com/

When We Leave (Die Fremde) by Feo Aladag

Jan 22, 2010

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 ...

http://turkfilm.blogspot.com/

Europe's LUX prize goes to When We Leave

Nov 24, 2010

The European Parliament's president Jerzy Buzek presented the award to Aladağ at a special ceremony today (24 Nov). She is the first female director to be shortlisted since the award began in 2007. The award carries a cash prize of ...

http://turkfilm.blogspot.com/

65 countries vie for 2010 Foreign Language Film Oscar®

Oct 16, 2010

Germany, “When We Leave,” Feo Aladag, director; Greece, “Dogtooth,” Yorgos Lanthimos, director; Greenland, “Nuummioq,” Otto Rosing and Torben Bech, directors; Hong Kong, “Echoes of the Rainbow,” Alex Law, director; ...

http://turkfilm.blogspot.com/

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

World Sales
TELEPOOL GmbH
Irina Ignatiew
Sonnenstrasse 21
80331 Munich/Germany
phone +49-89-55 87 60
fax +49-89-55 87 62 29
email: cinepool@telepool.de
http://www.telepool.de

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).