Essence Film GmbH

Germany 2019, 94 min
by Hendrik Schäfer

We accompany an Israeli gay couple, Motty and Alon, on their journey to have biological twins through their gestational surrogate, Krista, from Oregon/USA.For a period of one year, we look into the couple’s daily lives in Israel. We observe how they cope with the financial, medical, social and religious issues Israel’s reality poses them on their quest for fatherhood. Through their personal story, the film raises questions about parenthood, social norms and the zeitgeist of our technologically advanced world. A close look on Israel’s society and the main stream gay baby boom.

Germany 2016, 71 min
by Asli Özarslan

At 26, a Kurdish-German woman is elected the youngest mayor in Turkey. In a record 81% landslide she is elected mayor of Cizre, a Kurdish capital city that lies in the war-torn region at Turkey’s border with Syria and Iraq. It is here that Leyla was born, but after her father was killed by the Turkish military, she was sent at the age of 5 to live in Germany.After more than 20 years, she returns home. Her goal is to heal and beautify the civil-war-torn city, which is enjoying a break in the violence. But on the eve of Turkey’s parliamentary elections, everything changes, and old memories become more real than ever.Locations: Cizre/Turkey and Bremen/Germany