Im toten Winkel

In the Blind Spot
A German documentary film project in north-eastern Turkey. Simone wants to learn more about Hatice, whose son was abducted a quarter of a century ago. Storytelling to prevent forgetting, rituals to contest disappearance. The lives of the Kurdish people – lives lived in a blind spot – are characterised by violence and resistance to an uncertain existence. Strange incidents soon overshadow the filming as well: turning up alongside interpreter Leyla and directly in front of the camera is the neighbour’s little daughter Melek, with her pretty purple dress and a mysterious gaze that goes right through you. What follows is a subtly framed, coldly brutal political thriller told in three chapters and from multiple perspectives. For it is not only the strategies of sinister organisations and the logic of paranoia that is the focus of this clever and complex cinematic conundrum, but the act of seeing itself – in all its dimensions, from observation to prophecy. The blind spot is in fact trauma, of the transgenerational kind. German-Kurdish director, screenwriter and producer Ayşe Polat stages it to perfection.
by Ayşe Polat
with Katja Bürkle, Ahmet Varlı, Çağla Yurga, Aybi Era, Maximilian Hemmersdorfer
Germany 2023 German,  Turkish,  Kurdish,  English,  Subtitles: English 118’ Colour World premiere

With

  • Katja Bürkle (Simone)
  • Ahmet Varlı (Zafer)
  • Çağla Yurga (Melek)
  • Aybi Era (Leyla)
  • Maximilian Hemmersdorfer (Christian)
  • Nihan Okutucu (Sibel)
  • Tudan Ürper (Hatice)
  • Mutallip Müjdeci (Hasan)
  • Rıza Akın (Burhan)
  • Aziz Çapkurt (Eyüp)

Crew

DirectorAyşe Polat
ScreenplayAyşe Polat
CinematographyPatrick Orth
EditingSerhad Mutlu, Jörg Volkmar
MusicDynamedion
SoundJohannes Grehl
Production DesignOsman Özcan
CostumesEce Erol
Make-UpAntonia Petschow
CastingPinar Çelik
Assistant DirectorYasemin Müge Manus
Production ManagerLea Drescher
ProducersMehmet Aktaş, Janna Heine
Executive ProducerErhan Özoğul
Co-ProducerAyşe Polat
Co-ProductionPunktPunktPunkt Filmproduktion, Berlin

Produced by

Mitosfilm

Berlin, Germany

www.mitosfilm.com www.mitosfilm.com

Ayşe Polat

The German-Kurdish director, screenwriter and producer was born in Malatya, Türkiye and grew up in Hamburg, Germany. After several internationally award-winning short films, she made her debut feature film Auslandstournee in 1999. Her film En Garde won the Silver Leopard for Best Film and for Best Actress at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2004.

Filmography

1992 Fremdennacht; short film 1994 Ein Fest für Beyhan; short film 1997 Gräfin Sophia Hatun; short film 1999 Auslandstournee 2004 En Garde 2010 Luks Glück 2013 Die Erbin 2016 Die Anderen (The Others); documentary 2019 Der Staatsanwalt; series, several episodes 2020 Tatort: Masken; series, one epidode 2022 Tatort: Borowski und das unschuldige Kind von Wacken; series, one episode 2023 Im toten Winkel (In the Blind Spot)

Dates

Sun Feb 19 12:45

Akademie der Künste

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Mon Feb 20 10:30

International

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Mon Feb 20 13:30

Zoo Palast 3

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Mon Feb 20 13:30

Zoo Palast 4

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Mon Feb 20 13:30

Zoo Palast 5

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Mon Feb 20 22:00

Cubix 5

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Sun Feb 26 13:00

Cubix 7

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