Döndü Kiliç

The Other Side of Istanbul

Istanbul - the city between East and West - is considered among insiders to be the gay Mecca of Europe. Although European lifestyles have been adopted easily and often in Istanbul, today the city and her residents face a growing number of conservative, traditional forces. Within the tension between the old and the new, between the traditional and the revolutionary, and between stagnancy and change, we find our protagonists: gays and transsexuals from every walk of life. The Other Side of Istanbul is a film that follows these young men as they come to terms with their "otherness," and traces their struggles with the authorities, with the military, with society, with their families and, of course, with themselves. Theirs is a fight for human rights, for freedom, for a self-determined life, and with each success and failure they experience, we are offered a glimpse at The Other Side of Istanbul.