Zenne Dancer (2012)

Zenne Dancer, a Turkish film directed by Mehmet Binay and Caner Alper, who themselves are a gay couple, was released in January 2012. The film explores the taboo issue of LGBTQ rights in contemporary Turkish culture, as it follows the relationship between three "unlikely" friends: Can is a flamboyant belly, or zenne dancer, who does not shy away from expressing himself at any moment; Daniel, a German photographer on assignment in Istanbul, is haunted by his past; Ahmet, a university student struggling with his identity, is stuck between the dueling ideologies of his religious parents and the secular Istanbul. By analyzing the film through a critical lens and how it engages with recent scholarship, we may fashion a comprehensive understanding how Zenne Dancer is a prime example of cinema that has political and cultural implications.The film was inspired by a true event that occurred in Istanbul on July 15, 2008. Binay and Alper's character of Ahmet is based on the Ahmet Yildiz, a close friend of theirs, who was murdered that tragic day. In the film, Ahmet, originally from the rural southeastern town of Urfa, is encouraged by his friends to come out to his conservative family. However, unlike Can, who received love and support from his family, and Daniel, who comes from the more liberal Germany, Ahmet's honesty will ultimately cause his death.It is for this reason that making Zenne Dancer was so crucial. The film drew international coverage and success, including multiple awards at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival and by the Turkish Film Critics Association. Zenne Dancer not only started conversations about LGBTQ rights and gender equality where they weren't happening, but it furthermore shifted existing portrayals of queer individuals in the media. Typically, Turkish media "ignores or laughs off violence against gays" Media also oftentimes do not show the differences between homosexuals, transvestites, and transsexuals Although this isn't the first queer film to be released in Turkey, it is the first that actively seeks to explore the difficulties and problems faced by Turkey's gay community. In the film, Ahmet says to Daniel that his mother "likes to clean", foreshadowing the act that is meant to cleanse the family of his illicit relationship. Because Turkey is a secular republic, homosexuality is, in fact, legal—but even with the most cursory of research, it is evident that homophobia and transphobia are rampant throughout Turkey. In 2001, approximately a decade before Zenne Dancer hit the big screen, a study measuring people's opinions of homosexuality in Turkey was conduced among college students. The results showed that students had negative attitudes toward queer individuals, mostly because of traditionIn a male-dominated and patriarchal society like Turkey, gender becomes a stratification system, ranking women below men. Because Turkish people associate gay men with the feminine, a stereotypical image with an inherent prejudice against it is called to mindZenne Dancer takes this issue head-on. First, Ahmet and Daniel are projected as stereotypically masculine figures. Both are burly, muscular men with deep voices and facial hair. They both just happen to fall in love with each other, as well. However, the film represents the character of Can differently. He is best described as gender non-conforming—and not to be confused as transsexual, as many zennes are in Turkey. As a Zenne Dancer he is hyper-feminized, the object of desire for other men at the club in which he perform, but "retains the marks of his own ambiguity and ambivalence" (Halbertstam 3). In an attempt to dodge being drafted into the Turkish military, which will be discussed in the following paragraph, Can stays with his aunt and her hyper-masculine lover. Zenne Dancer also presents implications for the homophobia that is evident in Turkey is the military. "Homosexuality is regarded as a mental illness, and homosexuals are thereby banned form military service" In the film, Daniel convinces Ahmet to escape Turkey and immigrate to Germany with him. However, Ahmet is required to fulfill his military services—that is, unless he presents the army with pornographic evidence that he is a homosexual. As the final credits of the movie say, "The Turkish Military is in possession of the largest pornographic collection in Europe". But, by portraying Germany as a liberal, all-welcoming nation, Zenne has further political implications on this nation and queer asylum.Finally, there is an additional facet of Turkish culture that is especially interesting: the stage. This topic will be explored in greater detail in the accompanied video, but it is worth contextualizing the stage and its relation to homophobia and transphobia in Turkey. The space presents yet a dichotomy—the relationship between public and private spaces. Many "heterosexual" men discriminate against queer individuals during the day, but enjoy them, and even lust them, at night. The stage, as Selen describes it, is where "queerness can safely be embodied". For example, Can does not go out in the day out of fear, but is a zenne at night. Many of the men that attend the club don't self-identity as homosexual, but are rather, in a sense, heteroflexible. As Zenne Dancer explores this topic, it manifests larger implications for society. Because Turkish culture is intolerant to queerness, men are oftentimes pushed deeper into the closest, only to express themselves in secret. From this it is logical to say gay culture is underground at its core in Turkey, allowing Zenne Dancer to be categorized as queer cinema

Having watched Zenne Dancer, I'm surprised the movie made it to Singapore – even if it was only for a very limited run in a tiny cinema for a relatively obscure film festival. It's a brave, honest, bold movie that doesn't shy away from themes that are still regarded as taboo here: the notion of homosexuality, and having to live everyday in a society where that's seen as one of the cardinal sins – where dignity and life can be stripped from anyone who dares confess to being gay. The situation here in Singapore isn't quite as bad as it would be in a staunchly conservative Muslim country – and even in Turkey, the strictures and shame are less profoundly felt than they would be in, say, Iran. But the themes in Zenne Dancer – acceptance (of oneself and others), tolerance, love, shame and family – would resonate anywhere, particularly when presented as masterfully as they are here.Sadly, the story does not have a happy ending. I don't think this necessarily counts as a spoiler, because the film has become famous chiefly because of the woeful incident that both ends it and inspires it. (Moreover, I went into the cinema knowing how it would all end, pretty much, but found myself moved by the ending anyway – made all the more poignant for what goes before it.) Directors Caner Alper and Mehmet Binay were personally acquainted with a man named Ahmet Yildiz, whose life was tragically cut short on 15 July 2008 when he became the victim of a honour killing – the homicide of someone (typically a woman) who is believed by the perpetrators to have brought dishonour upon the family or community. Ahmet's true-life story was the first time the honour killing of a gay man received widespread publicity in Turkey.What Alper and Binay have done is present Ahmet's story through the fiction of film: some of the events within the movie are fictionalised, such as Can's close friendship with Ahmet (which is a key element in the plot). The directors have explained that they all knew the real-life Can, but couldn't be certain if the latter had ever known Ahmet. The story built up around the three men nevertheless feels true and organic, and is one of the joys of Zenne Dancer. The movie has a lot to say about very controversial themes, but it's also really a tale of the power and strength of friendship: of the family you choose rather than the family you're born with. The relationships are credible, rich and affecting: whether we're watching Can tease Ahmet (and vice versa), or going along for the ride as both men subject themselves to the humiliation of officially dodging the draft.In fact, the inner workings of the relationships and characters in this film are laid bare in ways that at once fulfil and confound stereotype. It becomes clear that there's more than meets the eye in Ahmet's fraught relationship with his family, which isn't merely about shame and hatred: it's a story of love twisted by religion and tradition, where duty comes before happiness not just for Ahmet, but also his modern yet dutiful sister. Daniel's troubled past as a photographer in war-torn Afghanistan provides depth to his story and pain, and even minor characters like Can's aunt Sukran (Jale Arikan) get moments to shine when they find love and support in unexpected places.Zenne Dancer is also a profound study in contrasts: Can quite literally dances through life, a rainbow burst of joy and love, adored by his mother Sevgi (Tilbe Saran) who will do anything to save her baby boy from the trauma visited by military service upon her deceased husband and haunted elder son Cihan (Tolga Tekin).With a great script and story comes a superlative cast: Kerem Can and Avci are the two focal points of the film, and both are astoundingly good. The former is fey and fabulous, but also manages to be heartbreaking and real in the part: Can flounces through life in a whirl of sequins and gauze, woes and responsibilities apparently sliding off his back with ease except they don't, not really, and Kerem Can makes this clear in moments when he injects a hint of steely resolve into his character that's all the more affecting for how breezy and easy he plays Can the rest of the time. His work is all the more impressive for the fact that he is himself straight – and there is simply no question that he was born to play this part. Avci is just as powerful, in no less effective a way, as a man who's slowly beginning to accept who he is and realising that he needs to be honest about it – however much it will break his parents' hearts. He plays Ahmet's tremulously sad, close relationship with his father particularly well, making it clear that his character could never really blame his parents for the way they think any more than he can hope for them to really accept him for who he is.Kudos are also due to Silver and Çalışkur, who inhabit rather unsympathetic roles with admirable gusto and, where necessary, restraint.All in all, Zenne Dancer is a towering achievement: it's a fantastic story, with great characters, told in an arresting, thought-provoking fashion – but never in a cheap, sensationalistic way. Instead, the tale rings sadly, horrifyingly true, and reminds us that there's a long way to go yet before societal mores and the sanctity of human rights can co-exist in the way they should. This is an important work, touching on issues of freedom, choice, identity and love. For a film that's ostensibly about being gay, Zenne Dancer possibly has even more things to say about what it is to be human.

What a gem of a movie. It touches you on so many points. Obviously, a majority of the film is about the internal storms of gays living in a society as intolerant as Turkey has become. The hypocrisy is, however, how open the Turkish Society was to gay inclinations and even encouraged them until one hundred years ago. Zenne (or Kocek) is a very old Turkish word and they were male dancers accompanying the acrobats during celebrations.But the movie does not go into those details anyway. Actually, I don't even classify Zenne as a gay movie. It's a very human movie. Has a rather slow rhythm, considering the genre, but builds up progressively and you just can not help but feel with the characters. Their turmoils, their emotions, their struggles and their passion.And then there is the music, and the photography. In a way everything about this movie somehow fits together. Well done team for a really good movie. Well spent two hours.

Inspired by the true story of Ahmet YILDIZ, who was murdered for being gay at the age 26 by his own father in 2008, Zenne, which picked up five at the latest Golden Orange Film Festival, is claimed to be a bold film because it tells the story of "an unlikely trio" who are Can (Kerem CAN)an exuberant,confident and stylish male dancer, Ahmet, a university student who was born to a South-Eastern Kurdish parents and Daniel, a German photographer who has recently taken up orientalism after his troubled stint in Afghanistan. As a cinema-goer I have always approached Turkish award-winners with caution. Whenever a bold, minimal movie with scanty dialog and a bold subtext is made, it seems to get awards. I have been disillusioned with award-winners so many times that I hesitated to go to this movie for a moment. Let me tell you that Zenne is not a bold movie at all. When I saw the trailer I thought I would see a shocking movie which really tells you a story about what a gay must be going through every day.Instead, I saw a watered down version of a non-credible story which looks merely forced. In the beginning of the movie we see the characters Can and Ahmet fighting. Before you actually realize the two are friends you see a German photographer blending with them.Without much of a background, Daniel and Ahmet falls in love and yes you need wide eyes to actually know that they are gay. Despite the accolades bestowed upon the movie, whenever the viewer feels the movie is losing the whole effect, the makers of this movie just try to save themselves by showing some visually bold male dancing sequences. The acting does not save it either. The parents of Ahmet look no more than histrionic and overly theatrical. Even if the mother of Can(Tilbe Saran) looks credible as a forlorn mother the subtext of the movie-putting all the blame of homophobia on mothers (families) is sheer blasphemy. A cross-dressing gay's life is not supposed to be easier just because he's got a more understanding, more liberal mother just as it's not supposed to be easier if he's living in Germany. Gay-bashing still takes place in many parts of the world including Germany. You can Google multiple references to a 1999 study that placed suicide attempts among homosexuals at 18 percent - four times the rate of heterosexual youths in Germany. According to an article published on the Economist magazine and referenced in the official website of the movie Mehmet Binay, who co-directed "Zenne", says he was astonished that Zenne was allowed to compete, let alone to win the award for best first film. Zenne takes it for granted that homosexuality is an inborn, unchangeable part of some people and claims to show that those people suffer from that the fact that some heterosexual people believe that homosexuality is a choice but it does not really succeed in convincing you about that. Fake,one-dimensional and weak characters, wooden and absurdly stagy acting,forced scenes (imagine the corny scene in which Can's mother runs after the car in tears) dancing sequences looking visually stunning on their own but which holistically look disjointed and disconnected, an unlikely friendship which actually looks expeditedly told and non-credible,easily noticeable goofs ( as in Ahmet's photo shoot for the military while he is all hirsute vs. his ensuing efforts to epilate his body hair to make himself more credible as a gay for the military medical check) turn this movie into a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists. 15 January 2012