German and Turkish with English subtitles

14A - Violence

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE AWARD WINNER CIFF 2010

WHEN WE LEAVE, the stunning debut from Feo Aldag, dramatizes the conflicts of family, personal moral imperatives and stubborn dogma—all framed through the one abandoned woman’s solitary fight.
German-born Umay (Sibel Kekilli) leaves her abusive Turkish husband with her son Cem to find refuge with her family in Germany. Much to her surprise, her family’s faith rests doggedly in long-standing tradition and everyone recommends a reconciliation despite the cost. Refusing to give in and holding out for her family’s ethical transformation, Umay continues to hide and explore her life outside the confines of female suppression. Dangerously testing her brothers’ allegiances to their father’s will, Umay continually throws the family into conflict by asserting her desire for support from them in this crisis. Her son becomes a pawn in the larger battle, and soon angry forces collide in a host of coincidences that tragically change the lives of everyone involved. WHEN WE LEAVE is a deft and confident film that will tear at your emotions and lock you in its gaze until its final frames.

TS