One from Europe, the other from a country aspiring to be European for centuries…Yet, both are women, DJs and mothers to 11-year old sons.
SHE-J is the story of two alter-egos; DJ Beyza from Turkey and DJ Dame (Natasja) from Holland, two women who follow their passion despite all odds. It is also a film about Turkey with its young urban face and its confrontation with Europe.
Beyza, the first female DJ of Turkey says her work is like selling pork in a Muslim neighbourhood. On the other hand, Natasja finds life and the club scene in the Netherlands boring.
The film follows for one year the lives and work of these two mother DJs from two culturally distinct backgrounds, performing to entirely distinct audiences. Beyza travels from one city to another performing in different parts of Turkey and has hardly any time to see her son, Dunya. Her passion for her work as well as life conditions in Turkey force her to live a lonely life, unable to find a partner who would accept her marginal lifestyle.
Natasja, on the other hand, chooses to put her son Kyan in the center of her life and music comes second. She has a supportive partner and a more structured family life. Yet she yearns for more passion and chaos in her life as well as the chance to spend more time for music.
At first, both women seem to yearn for what the other one has. Yet, over the course of the year as their lives change in many different ways.
Especially when they meet, they discover that the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Elvan Kivilcim worked for network television in Turkey as post-production editor and production assistant upon her graduation from Bogazici University. Later, she completed her higher education in cultural and media studies at the University of Warwick, UK and undertook academic research at the University of Osnabrück, Germany, where she also taught courses on culture, media and cinema. Currently she works in Turkey with various international networks, i.e. Arte, Deutschewelle, Aljazeera English as land producer for news and documentary video projects. She-J is her first independent documentary project.
Filmography:
“The Nymph” -2002, (director/producer)
A short video on working-girl Dicle who seeks happiness through a fortune-teller’s guidance.
“Another Kind of Islam”, 2006 (director of photography)
A 30 minute video on an Islamic sect from Anatolia, the Alevites and their annual festivals.
“She-J” -2007, (director/producer)
A 63 minute feature documentary on the lives and meeting of two women electronic music DJs, one Turkish and the other Dutch, and both mothers to 11-year old sons. This project is partly sponsored by Todaysart Festival, Netherlands.
Category: MEDIAWAVE Festival / Gathering / MEDIAWAVE 2008
Genre: Documentary
Nationalities: Turkey
Year: 2008
Premiere: Eurpean premier
Director: Elvan KIVILCIM
63 min. 2007 DV, Colour, szöveges, Turkish/English/Dutch, English felírattal
Operatőr: Elvan Kivilcim
Zeneszerző: Guy Blanken, Beyza Olcay, Natsja van der Horst
Vágó: Elvan Kivilcim