LUX Prize Film Week: When We Leave

Umay, a young German woman of 25, flees her oppressive marriage in Istanbul with her young son Cem and returns to her native Berlin. She hopes to build a better life there. But her unexpected arrival creates conflicts in her family which is torn between their love for her and the values of their community. They want to return Cem to his father in Turkey. To remain with her son, Umay moves again. Although she manages to build a new life, her need for her family’s approval and love drives her to a series of ill-fated attempts at reconciliation. She doesn’t realize the depth of the wounds or how dangerous her struggle for independence has become.

Feo Aladag was born in 1972 in Vienna. She began her career as an actress, completing her training in London and Vienna. At the same time, she studied psychology and journalism, receiving her PhD in 2000. She attended master-classes and directed seminars at the European Film Academy as well as the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin (DFFB). She has acted in numerous acclaimed film and television productions and is a successful scriptwriter. In 2005, she founded the production company Independent Artists Filmproduktion with fellow director Züli Aladag. "When we leave" is her cinema debut as producer, scriptwriter and director.