Turkey / 2023 / 52 min / English + Arabic & Persian with English subtitles / Documentary
In the following months after the USA withdrew its troops from Afghanistan, a young Kabul couple found their way to the dark and dodgy Afghan neighborhood, Zeytinburnu in İstanbul. Malika – a transgender woman who together with Mohamed, the love of her life, have fled their families honor killing plan and Taliban’s fatal punishments to be able to cultivate their forbidden love for each other, in the hope of achieving a new and better life in Turkey. One day they pass by the young and homeless ”Ilham,” who is sitting on the pavement with nowhere to go, and decide to bring an extra person into their self-made family. Together the three of them are facing poverty, fear of deportation, daily harassment, sexual violence and gender identity crisis. But their self-claimed support towards each other, keeps them fighting for their dreams, whatever it takes. On their tumultuous and challenging journey and transformation through registration for Turkish residency, seeking help in NGOs. As they obtain residency and move into their own place, their circumstances seem to improve from the outside. But unexpected and darker perspectives surface, revealing a surprising twist of perception, when Ilham runs away and claims they have prostituted him out to other men.
DIRECTOR: Saeed Mayahy is an Iranian film director born in 1991 in Bushehr. He graduated from Bushehr Film School in 2013, where he debuted with the documentary “The Camera” in 2012. Since then 10
films have followed. ”Don’t worry, be happy” was bought by NRK TV station and others have been
screened at many festivals such as Miami International Film Festival, Palm Springs Film Festival,
Arpa film festival, Giffoni film festival, Canberra Short Film Festival, Linz International Short Film
Festival, San Francisco Frozen Film Festival, Chicago International Movies and Music Festival,
Festival Filministes, The International Outdoor Documentary Film Festival of China.
Miriam Carlsen grew up in a globetrotter family, with a dad specializing in sustainable energy
solutions for Third World countries. Traveling and hosting people from all national and ethnically
backgrounds, has shaped her passion for human narratives and their impact on cultural bridge
building. She worked in Norway in the organization RAMP, an NGO for integrating team building and
guidance for orphanage refugee minors from Iraq and Afghanistan. It led to an increased interest for
a deeper understanding of human life in the MENA region and interest in the Afghan matter. Later
she learned Arabic and lived in the Middle East.
Contact: saeed.mayahy1991@gmail.com
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