Lola und Bilidikid
Kutlug Ataman, director.
Germany/Turkey, 1998, 35mm, 93 min.
German and Turkish with English subtitles.

Set in a world of macho hustler tops and effeminate drag bottoms, Lola und Bilidikid offers a rare glimpse into a Turkish émigré subculture in which intolerance, fear and self-loathing are the subtext for this powerful gay coming-of-age story.

Sixteen-year-old Murat cruises Berlin's parks, a voyeur to gay sex concealed by trees and shadows. He is torn between the need to experience this taboo and his Muslim family's hopes that he will be the golden boy who will allow them to escape the ghetto. Tormented by memories of a long-lost brother, Murat is shocked to discover that this brother is now Lola, a transvestite in Berlin's seamy underworld.

When Lola is mysteriously killed, Murat goes underground in a desperate search to vindicate his brother's death and their shared queer identity. This film effectively explores the right to be different within a culture driven by assimilation and offers the hope that we all can survive tragedy and overcome shame.

To see our full site, click here.