Kismet, Kismet

Kemal came to West Berlin from Turkey seven years ago and built up a small, secure existence selling carpets. But he puts that all at risk when he decides to pursue his dream of a career as a film director. Not only has his partner Sabine left him and his friend Alper slipped into prostitution, even film school graduate and cameraman Frank turns out to disappoint him. But Kemal refuses to be beaten…

Made with the support of Berlin underground filmmaker Lothar Lambert, this low-budget production casts a harsh and glaring light on the immigrant environment. In the process, it depicts its contradictory nature, spotlighting the extremes of each culture with images of family life in an Eastern Anatolian village alongside scenes of Berlin's street-hustler scene. Yet instead of framing violence, family repression and sexual exploitation as an impeachment of society, in his directorial debut Ismet Elçi tells the empowering story of a resilient man with the chutzpah to overcome every reversal and emerge with a smile.

Source: 74. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)