Kleine Freiheit
Encyclopedia
Kleine Freiheit is a 2003 film by Kurdish
director Yüksel Yavuz
about the friendship (and later relationship) between two teenage boys who are illegal immigrants in Germany
.
after his parents, who had helped Kurdish rebels, were betrayed and subsequently killed by the Turkish
militia. Now that Baran is 16, he is no longer allowed to stay in Germany and faces the bleak prospect of getting deported back.
Baran meets Chernor (Leroy Delmar), an African boy who has the same problem and trafficks drugs to make some money. Chernor is openly gay
and their friendship has sexual overtones from the beginning. Baran also has very little interest in girls, even though a marriage might solve his immigration-related legal trouble.
Things get even more complicated when Baran spots the traitor of his family and wants to kill him. However, the man pleads for his life and Baran spares him. After this act of forgiveness, Cherno and Baran have sex together for the first time, making it clear to Baran that his interest in Cherno goes beyond friendship. Finally, both Cherno and Baran, who had made a desperate attempt to free Cherno, are arrested by the police.
film festival, while the movie won a viewers' choice award in Istanbul
.
Kleine Freiheit, the German title of the movie, ("Little Freedom", translated literally) is a wordplay on Große Freiheit
(literally "Great Freedom"), the rather famous name of a street in the red light St. Pauli
district where the plot is set.
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
director Yüksel Yavuz
Yüksel Yavuz
Yüksel Yavuz is a Kurdish film director from Turkey.Since 1980, he has lived in Germany. From 1986 to 1989 he studied sociology and economics in Hamburg. He produced his first film in 1994, an autobiographical documentary about the experience of his father as a guest worker and his mother, who...
about the friendship (and later relationship) between two teenage boys who are illegal immigrants in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Plot
Baran (Cagdas Bozkurt) is a young Kurd who was sent to HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
after his parents, who had helped Kurdish rebels, were betrayed and subsequently killed by the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
militia. Now that Baran is 16, he is no longer allowed to stay in Germany and faces the bleak prospect of getting deported back.
Baran meets Chernor (Leroy Delmar), an African boy who has the same problem and trafficks drugs to make some money. Chernor is openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and their friendship has sexual overtones from the beginning. Baran also has very little interest in girls, even though a marriage might solve his immigration-related legal trouble.
Things get even more complicated when Baran spots the traitor of his family and wants to kill him. However, the man pleads for his life and Baran spares him. After this act of forgiveness, Cherno and Baran have sex together for the first time, making it clear to Baran that his interest in Cherno goes beyond friendship. Finally, both Cherno and Baran, who had made a desperate attempt to free Cherno, are arrested by the police.
Critical reaction
The movie was critically well-received, particularly because of its accurate depiction of the Turkish–Kurdish conflict, its handling of the characters' sexuality (three of which are gay), and the acting prowess of the nonprofessional actors. Cagdas Bozkurt won an acting prize at the AnkaraAnkara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
film festival, while the movie won a viewers' choice award in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
Kleine Freiheit, the German title of the movie, ("Little Freedom", translated literally) is a wordplay on Große Freiheit
Große Freiheit
The Große Freiheit is a cross street on the North Side to Hamburg's Reeperbahn road in the St. Pauli quarter. It is part of the so called red light district or Kiez.-History:...
(literally "Great Freedom"), the rather famous name of a street in the red light St. Pauli
St. Pauli
St. Pauli , located in the Hamburg-Mitte borough, is one of the 105 quarters of the city of Hamburg, Germany. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the Landungsbrücken are a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. Pauli contains a world famous red light district around the street Reeperbahn...
district where the plot is set.