Ayla Çekin Satijn
Beş (2021) Asli, a young, Turkish, lesbian woman, returns to the village where she was born to attend the henna party of her childhood friend. She fears not being accepted, but when she sees her old friends again, she comes to realize that she herself has the biggest prejudice.
Director’s statement
In a time filled with discussions about racism, gender and sexuality, the nuance appears to be lost at times. Time for a change, I realized. With my debut film Beş, I want to push off against stereotypical images, to show – in close up – who I am and where I am from. Because all too often we still see a stereotypical depiction of Muslim women in the media. Vailed, passive, working behind a till or walking across a marketplace. The same goes for queer people, there will always be a driving negative storyline. Despite this, I have had an incredibly fun life as a Turkish queer woman, with so many beautiful people around me. That, too, should be seen on your screen! With Beş I want to present a more nuanced, multidimensional image of the Turkish woman. Just like I experience in my own (Turkish) family and friend group. With this film I want to give the audience food for thought about what it means to be influenced by prejudice about your own culture and at the same time show a short journey of rituals that ensure that you feel at home again. The original story, the loving approach and my motivation is what I want to use to ensure that all the tiny Ayla’s of the world – who are somewhere, sitting on a sofa, behind a laptop or tv – start to realize they are not alone.
Zehra, who plays Asli, is Turkish and queer herself as well and this was the first time where she joined a project that was surrounded by queer people or other Turkish women who actually wanted to help tell this story. This was a confirmation for both her and I that this was something which we had always needed. A big part of the crew and cast feels deeply attached to this project, because we know how difficult it is to live between two worlds and still be true to your own love or culture. We have found each other already, but now we want to reach the rest and move them.
Ayla Çekin Satijn graduated from the HKU in 2017. She is a (voice) actress and director. A Turkish queer woman who advocates for stories about cultural diversity with a broader and better representation of (Turkish) women and queer people. She has toured with several theatre productions and also features in the dramaseries and Netflix film ANNE+ (2021), and in the Netflix series Dirty Lines (2021). She co-directed the short film Akela, which was showcased at the Nederlands Film Festival (Dutch Film Festival) in 2020. Beş is her debut film, which she has both written and directed. “My heritage has always played an enormous role. I have always had to move within two cultures. The older I become, the more people I encouter who have also faced this battle. I want to send stories into the world, as a new creator, which I have always had to hold back. I want to be able to say, out loud: I am Turkish, I am queer, and I will make stories about my sexuality and my culture.”