Opening 5 Sep 2024
Directed by:
Asli Özarslan
Writing credits:
Claudia Schaefer, Asli Özarslan, Fatma Aydemir
Principal actors:
Melia Kara, Jale Arikan, Mina Sagdic, Ercan Karacayli, Ali-Emre Sahin
Hazal (Melia Kara) is of Turkish origin and living in Berlin. She turns eighteen and is looking for a job. She is not interested in the offer of a three-month apprenticeship in a bakery. She celebrates her birthday, calls her parents, interacts with other girls, and meets Mehmet (Doga Gürer). To his surprise she moves into his apartment, and they share a bed. There is interaction with friend Elma (Jamilah Bagdach). They have similar problems: stolen money, physical confrontation, police arrest, etc. It’s too much and Hazal runs off to Turkey, hoping to find a better life in a new environment of which she knows very little.
Ellbogen means “Elbow” in English and “Dirsek” in Turkish. The plot consists of Hazal “elbowing” her way through a complicated life both in Germany and Turkey. About 80 percent of the screen works with close-ups with less wide-range photography. It shows in German with Turkish subtitles and premiered at the 74th Berlinale Film Festival. It should receive wide interest in Germany where Turks are the largest foreign population with over 1.5 million residents. Ellbogen is based on the book of the same title by Fatma Aydemir, who has a similar Turkish/German background. (Becky Tan)
