BEKAR EVİ – DAS JUNGGESELLENHAUS

Seven Kurdish workers, who share a flat in Istanbul, are driven by the desire to improve their lives. One is Ikram, who has spent 11 years in prison for political reasons. He wants to leave Turkey for Europe. Miro, another, faces a forced marriage back home. But he has fallen in love with Suzan, a woman in Istanbul. One day, Miro is handed a precious cat from his home province. The breed is famous for its snow-white coat and two different eye colors. By giving the cat to Suzan, Miro hopes to win her heart. The film follows Ikram, Miro, and the other men’s struggle through current Istanbul and portrays a traditional way of brotherhood called “Bekar Evi” (“Bachelor House”).

Director

DIRK SCHÄFER trained as a film editor before he began writing and directing. He studied at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne and attended a masterclass at the Andrzej Wajda Film School in Warsaw. A selection of his films as a director includes: DIE WEISSEN ZWERGE (1989), WILMA WOHNT WEIT WEG (1991), ACHTUNDZWANZICHTAUSEND WÜNSCHE (1993), AHUVA (doc, 1995), ALIS WELT (doc, 1996), AND THEY LIVE IN MARDIN (doc, 2010), EINE ART LIEBE (doc, 2012), DER HEISSE MONAT (doc, 2015), BEINE WIE EIN STORCH (doc, 2017), FOREVER FLÜCHTLING (short, 2018), and BEKAR EVİ – THE BACHELOR HOUSE (doc, 2019).

Dirk Schäfer (© Patricia Rommel) photos © Orhan Cem Çetin