Sibel Kekilli Movies
- 2006
The atrocities committed by the military dictatorship that assumed control of Turkey in 1980 are explored by director Omer Ugur in this drama detailing the brutal interrogation and relentless torture of an apolitical factory worker. Mustafa (Memet Ali Alabora and Esma (Sibel Kekilli) are a married couple attempting to put enough overtime at the factory to build a better future for their young daughter. When the military takes over and arrives at the factory to root out union organizers, Mustafa pays little attention since he has never been involved in such activities. When the police burst through his door and accuse Mustafa of being a communist who operates under the codename Sehmuz, however, he fails to convince them of his innocence. Subsequently tortured for three grueling weeks, Mustafa finds his fate taking a grim turn when members of the true leftist cell confirm that he is Sehmuz. Later, when police eventually discover that they have been torturing the wrong man, they release Mustafa with an ominous warning more torture will follow if he dares speak out about his experience. Though subsequently allowed to return to his wife and child, the emotionally shattered and physically battered man finds it impossible to forget the deep-rooted pains of the past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Memet Ali Alabora, Sibel Kekilli, (more)
- 2006
Stalingrad director Joseph Vilsmaier teams with his wife, director and actress Dana Vávrová, for this harrowing look at the journey of three Berlin Jews to the dreaded Auschwitz Concentration Camp at the height of World War II. In 1942, Joseph Goebbles' herded scores of Berlin Jews into the Grunewald Railway Station in Berlin under the pretext of protecting them from air raids. Entire families were crammed into overcrowded freight trucks without food or drink and forced to endure a journey of several days as unsympathetic guards loomed ominously nearby with guns at the ready. It was during this time that many of those unfortunate souls surely began to realize that this voyage was only the beginning of their woes: Passengers such as famous pugilist Henry Neumann, singer Jakob Noschik, and frightened teenager Ruth Zilbermann. Now, as they roll ever closer to their grim destiny at Auschwitz, the only question that remains is who will survive this dreadful ordeal? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gedeon Burkhard, Lale Yavas, (more)
When the owner of a Turkish food stand hires his nephew to film a commercial in hopes of bringing in new business, the competition between the Turkish stand and an adjacent Greek food stand finds family tensions rising in director Anno Saul's darkly comic family drama. Though the aspiring filmmaker's catchy commercial does little to increase the profits of the struggling Turkish food stand, the owner of the nearby Greek stand sees the potential in advertising and soon places a request for his own commercial with the eager young director. Though his disapproving uncle makes it undoubtedly clear that he vehemently disapproves of the endeavor, the filmmaker drives a sizeable wedge between himself and his family when he sets about shooting the advertisement regardless of their objections. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denis Moschitto, Nora Tschirner, (more)
- 2005
When a boorish German entrepreneur falls prey to a notorious, Kenya-based banking scam, his last-ditch effort reclaim his cash by traveling to Africa and confronting the con-artist serve as a noble epilogue to a reckless life in director Hans Steinbichler's dramatic account of one man's downward spiral. A diagnosed manic-depressive whose impulsive behavior only serves to further isolate him from his increasingly irritated family and friends, Franz Brenninger (Josef Bierbichler) is a once-wealthy businessman who has since fallen on hard times. When Franz receives letter promising a healthy payoff if he simply allows millions of dollars to be transferred through his German bank account, he enlists the aid of Kurdish translator Leyla (Sibel Kekilli) and secures the 50,000 Euros needed to seal the deal, telling his trusting son Xaver (Philipp Hochmair) that he is going to use the cash to pay for his ailing wife Martha (Hanna Schygulla)'s much-needed eye surgery. Upon realizing that he has been scammed and has nothing left to lose, Franz quickly scrounges whatever funds he can gather and travels to Nairobi with Leyla in hopes of confronting the elusive con artist and getting the money back. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josef Bierbichler, Sibel Kekilli, (more)
German-born Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin writes and directs the drama Gegen die Wand (Head-On). Set in a working-class Hamburg neighborhood, the story follows two Turkish immigrants who get together in a marriage of convenience. Cahit Tomruk (Birol Ünel) is a heavy drinker and a fighter who crashes his car into a wall. While visiting his psychiatrist, Dr. Schiller (Hermann Lause), he meets fellow patient Sibel Guner (Sibel Kekilli). She's desperate to get away from her restrictive family, so she asks Cahit to marry her. Wanting to change his life anyway, Cahit agrees to the arrangement. After their wedding, Sibel celebrates her freedom by drinking, dancing, and having one-night stands. Meanwhile, Cahit carries on an intimate relationship with hair stylist Maren (Catrin Striebeck). Eventually, Cahit and Sibel learn to care for one another after a climactic trip to Istanbul. Head-On won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, (more)
