Bis mir der Atem ausgeht

Until I Lose My Breath

Serap, a young woman whose mother is no longer around, works in a textile factory in Istanbul. She longs for her father, a lorry driver, to finally make good on his promise and rent a flat for the two of them. In the meantime, she lives with her sister and her husband. She does everything she can to make sure her wish comes true, saving her wages for her father and allowing herself nothing. Her stubborn perseverance almost reverses the standard parent-child relationship. The daughter is the one who cares and provides, looking after her father and giving him money. She chooses to ignore the fact that he always comes up with new excuses and lies and rejects the more realistic picture that her sister paints of him. Although the camera is always with Serap, we only get to know her and her life gradually, as well as how far she is prepared to go for her wish. This piercing tale of a father and daughter is also about the mixed set of feelings that flow together in existential human relationships – longing, neediness, lies, disappointment, illusion and anger – a mix described frequently, yet almost deceptively as love.

Source: 65. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)