Director: Feo Aladag
Country: Turkey/Germany
Year: 2010
Length: 119 minutes
Genre: Drama
Screening Times: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 8 PM | Buy Tickets
Synopsis
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.
Festivals & Awards
83rd Academy Awards, USA 2011: German entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
German Film Awards, Germany 2010: BEST FILM – LOLA in Bronze; BEST LEADING ACTRESS, Sibel Kekilli
Berlin International Film Festival, Germany 2010: Europa Cinema Label Award
Tribeca Film Festival, USA 2010: BEST FILM, World Narrative Feature Competition; BEST ACTRESS, Sibel Kekilli
Calgary International Film Festival, Canada 2010: BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE, Feo Aladag
New Faces Award, Germany 2010: BEST DEBUT FILM, Feo Aladag
German Camera Prize, Germany 2010: BEST CAMERA, Judith Kaufmann, bvk
German/Turkish Film Festival Nuremberg, Germany 2010: BEST ACTRESS, Sibel Kekilli
Créteil Women’s Film Festival, France 2010: BEST FILM – Audience Award
Recklinghausen Film Festival, Germany 2010: BEST FILM
Bernhard Wicki Film Prize, Germany 2010: German Cinema Award for Peace, Sibel Kekilli
Flanders International Film Festival, Belgium 2010: PORT OF GHENT AUDIENCE AWARD, GRAND PRIX FOR BEST FILM
Festival Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal, Canada 2010: BEST ACTRESS, Sibel Kekilli
Reviews
Hollywood Reporter –Tense and moving drama about a young woman whose drive for independence runs afoul of hardline tradition…
Screen Daily — A family melodrama about Turkish communities living in the west…
Variety — Sheer acting, lensing and helming smarts elevate “When We Leave”…
Director’s Bio
When We Leave is Feo Aladag’s debut as a producer, scriptwriter and director. Born in 1972 in Vienna, Feo Aladag studied acting in Vienna and London as well as psychology and communication science, graduating in 2000 from University of Vienna with a PhD. From 1991 to 1993 Feo Aladag worked as a freelance editor for daily newspapers in Austria, writing mainly about film and TV. Since 1994 Aladag has been working as a stage and screen actress in Germany, Austria and the U.K. Until 2000 she worked on numerous videos and commercials and has also written scripts for television, some of which were brought to life with director Züli Aladag. Following her Directorial Masters classes at the European Film Academy with directors like Michael Radford and Mike Figgis, she began studying directing at the German Film & TV Academy in Berlin in 2004. Feo continued to stay very close to her acting career and worked in well over 60 film, TV and stage productions.
External Links
Official Move Site
When We Leave Trailer (with English subtitles)
When We Leave on IMDb