Lola + Bilidikid (1999) ( Lola and Bilidikid )

Lola + Bilidikid (1999) (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Lola and Bilidikid
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Berlin International Film Festival
Stockholm Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Subtitles )
German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
German ( Subtitles )
Turkish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Germany ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
91 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen

Special Features:
Biographies
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Filmographies
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 1999 and produced in:
Germany ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
E. Kutlug Ataman

Written By:
E. Kutlug Ataman

Actors:
Gandi Mukli ..... Lola
Baki Davrak ..... Murat
Erdal Yildiz ..... Bilidikid
Inge Keller ..... Ute
Michael Gerber ..... Friedrich
Murat Yilmaz ..... Iskender
Hasan Ali Mete ..... Osman
Hakan Tandogan ..... Fatma Souad
Cihangir Gümüstürkmen ..... Lale Lokum
Celal Perk ..... Sehrazat
Mesut Ozdemir ..... Kalipso
Ulrich Simontowitz ..... Man in Tiergarten
Willi Herren ..... Rudy
Mario Irrek ..... Hendryk
Jan Andres ..... Walter

Synopsis:

When young Turkish talent Kutlug Ataman wanted to make a film about transvestites, the first location he had in mind was Istanbul. As he developed the script, his thought was to place these marginal characters, who are subject to societal prejudices in an environment where there is already discrimination, would add dramatic effect. Supported by funding from German sources, Ataman set his story in Berlin, inside the community of "guest workers" where Turkish transvestites are shunned not only by Germans, but by their own kind as well. The result is a strong film with moments of tenderness, emotion and laughter juxtaposed with the harsh realities of life for those who dare to be different. 16 year old Murat (Baki Davrak) is a Turk who is curious about gay life and eventually submerges himself in the gay hustler and transvestite subculture. He is taken by the free and easy atmosphere of the dimly lit bars and the appearance of camaraderie among this marginal community, while at home his very conservative brother Osman (Hasan Ali Mete) rules with an iron fist. Murat finds the brotherly love denied at home in a transvestite, Lola (Gandi Mukli), who turns out to be his actual brother, disowned by Osman years ago. As more family secrets come to the open, violence erupts. Murat survives the ensuing tragedy and finally finds a way of living his own life. Most of the players in this film are non-professional actors from Berlin's Turkish community (and incidentally, not all of them are gay or transvestite). Veteran German actress Inge Keller, who plays the mother of Frederich, an aristocrat who risks his social standing because of his passion for Bilidikid (Erdal Yildiz), is the only famous name among the cast. Clever editing by Ewa J. Lind prevents a downhill flow into sheer melodrama by periodically mixing the narrative with dynamic performances in Turkish transvestite bars, as if giving the audience a chance to fuel up before charging them with the next powerful emotion. Night scenes in the desolate parks of Berlin accentuate the loneliness of the characters with impressive camerawork by Chris Squires. Lola und Bilidikid opened the Panorama section of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999 and won the Teddy Bear Award given to gay/lesbian films.

Drama. 16-year-old Murat is a Berliner, a Turk and gay - and he's hungry for experience, risking family disapproval. When he meets transvestite singer Lola, there is an affinity between them, but Lola guards a secret. It transpires that Lola is Murat's brother, disowned by the family years earlier, and this turns out to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Murat is a German teen of Turkish origin, who begins to experiment with his sexuality in the Berlin transvestite Turkish scene. His classmates and brother are hostile, and when he meets a nightclub performer Lola, a lost kindred spirit who immediately befriends him and tries to protect him from a well-guarded secret about his family. Lola's hustler boyfriend Bilidikid, a self-hating, James Dean inspired macho whop wants Lola to have a sex change operation so they might assume their proper place in society as husband and wife. As Murat navigates through this world of "no rules" he learns how hard it is to keep a secret in a small immigrant community.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 18 March, 2009.

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