A new film, released last week in Turkey, is highlighting sexuality and homophobia in present-day Turkey. The film by Caner Alper and Mehmet Binay called ZENNE Dancer, aims to reveal the stark realities facing the LGBT community in the country. It has already seen positive reactions from Turks who want to see their country move more West and let what they termed “xenophobic and prejudice behind.” “We have long struggled between East and West, but one thing we do know is that we are in between and when it comes to human rights the idea is to give more freedom than our Arab brothers and sisters often do,” Arda Bey, a 20-year-old university student in Istanbul, told Bikyamasr.com. “This film will expose Turks to the fact these people are not any different than anyone else, but face hardship beyond belief,” he added after seeing the film on its January 13 release. The film takes its inspiration from Ahmet Yildiz, a man who was murdered in 2008 and a friend of both directors, who came out the night of the premiere as a couple. Yildiz was fatally injured after being attacked while leaving a cafe near the Bosphorus strait. Court records have identified Yildiz's father as the main suspect, Gay Middle East reported. The 26-year-old was studying physics and had represented his country in a LGBT gathering in San Francisco in 2007. His murder sparked massive public attention, with activists marching in the following Istanbul Pride carrying placards with the slogan “get the murderer” and “Ahmet Yildiz was my family.” The film looks at the nature of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transsexual culture in Turkey, and how they are often faced with “honor” crimes for their sexuality. While most often honor crimes are defined as happening to straight women, the film aims to change the perception of such definitions by showing how “honor killings” in Turkish society are also directed at the gay population, as in Yildiz's case. “Families in Turkey want to protect the “reputation” of their name and so rarely this is reported to the authorities who also turn a blind eye. As such, cases are reported as other incidents and thus go undocumented and recorded,” wrote Gay Middle East. While LGBT rights in Turkey have moved forward faster than their Middle Eastern compatriots, the struggle for full rights and their ability to survive societal expectations remains difficult. Cihan, a 25-year-old lesbian, told Bikyamasr.com that “entering into a relationship with another woman was a very hard decision because I knew it would change the way I dealt with my family.” She said that after announcing to her parents that she was planning to date women, they told her to “leave the house. I was in tears, but they didn't want a daughter who would affect their standing with friends.” Luckily for her, she has been able to return to her family, who she says “have accepted my feelings and who I am attracted to, but it was complicated.” Others are not so fortunate, which makes the new film so vital to pushing the LGBT community in Turkey forward. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/6xyIg Tags: featured, Gay, Lesbian, LGBT, Turkey, ZENNE Dancer Section: Art, Culture, Europe, Latest News, Movie Reviews
