deckert distribution
The Documentary Sales Company 
Deckert Distribution presents:

Bastion of Sin


Bastion of Sion 

Bastion of Sin
Hochburg der Sünden

Country of production
Germany

Year of production
2008

Format
HDV, Digi Beta

Length
58 / 78 min

Director
Thomas Lauterbach

Production
INDI FILM in co-production with SWR

Aysel is a religious Muslim who for many years has led a sheltered life as a housewife and mother in the provincial south of Germany. When she learns that the state theatre in Stuttgart is looking for non-professional actresses for the tragedy "Medea", she sees an opportunity to escape from her tedious everyday existence – and so she auditions for a part. What initially sounds like a little bit of change in Aysel's life soon proves to be a hard challenge to her view of the world. The director Volker Lösch wants to use the boundless freedom offered by theatre to penetrate the at times highly secretive world of Muslim women. As the stage adaptation develops, Aysel finds herself confronted by the tragic stories of life endured by other Muslim women, existences that up to now she only knows through hearsay. And as the only woman in the production wearing the Muslim headscarf, she is obliged to defend her values and lifestyle to other more modern Turkish women involved. Torn between her desire for freedom and her own traditions, Aysel gets entangled in a conflict with her beliefs and is forced to question her life to date. Aysel begins to struggle with the clichés, with the "immorality" in the theatre – and ultimately with her very self.

Original Language
German, Turkish

Subtitles
English, German

Festivals
DOK Leipzig 2008, Germany (Golden Dove German Competition)
Kassel Documentary and Video Festival 2008, Germany
FilmZ – Festival of German Cinema Mainz, Germany
Visions du Réel Nyon 2009, Switzerland
Hot Docs Toronto 2009, Canada
FilmKunstFest Schwerin 2009, Germany
Prix Europa Berlin 2009, Germany
Astra FF Sibiu 2009, Romania

Awards
Golden Dove in German Competition at DOK Leipzig 2008
Prix SRG SSR idée suisse 2009 at Basel-Karlsruhe Forum 2009
Prize of Baden-Württembergische Filmindustrie

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