Mr Gay Syria

"These guys love laughing, they love life, and love having fun even though they are surrounded by so much tragedy. Half of them are sex workers, they have family stuck in Syria, they live in a terrible time - probably as bad as it gets. But regardless, they want to laugh and have fun. And Mr. Gay Syria gave that to them. They could come back to life. You can see how much they want to live - it's beautiful, and offers an escape." (Ayşe Toprak, director)

Director's Biography
Ayşe Toprak
A filmmaker based in Istanbul, Ayşe Toprak received a BFA in Film & TV from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and an MA from the New School. Her work experience includes Channel Thirteen/PBS in New York and producing for Al Jazeera in London, Doha and Istanbul. Her film “Mr. Gay Syria” received the Human Rights Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

Film Selection: Mr. Gay Syria (2017, doc) — Another Spring In Iraq (2014, short) — The Cover Story (2014, short) — Schools On The Edge (2014, short) — Land Ties (2013, short)
Competition Documentary 2018
Ayşe Toprak
France / Germany / Turkey 2017
color
87 minutes
Arabic / English / German / Turkish
OV with English subtitles
Screenplay Ayşe Toprak
Cinematography Hajo Schomerus, Anne Misselwitz
Editing Nadia Ben Rachid
Sound/Sounddesign Vincent Rozenberg
Music Zeid Hamdan
With Husein, Mahmoud Hassino, Omar, Nader, Wissam, Samer, Ayman Menem, Bradley Secker, Ahmed, Suma, Issam, William, Salam, Muhammed, Hussam, The Tea and Talk Group, Jad
Producer(s) Antoine Simkine, Christine Kiauk, Ekin Çalışır, Herbert Schwering
Production
Les Films d’Antoine, COIN FILMS, Toprak Films
Austrian Premiere
Weltpremiere / World Premiere
Sheffield Doc/Fest 2017

Premierenstatus / Premiere Status
Austrian Premiere