CJFF Presents: Seyran Ates -Sex, Revolution, and Islam
Virtual Screening
When: November 20, 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
Cost: Free
Release Year: 2021
Runtime: 81 minutes
Director(s): Nefise Özkal Lorentzen
Synopsis:
In the 1960s, the hippies championed the idea of a sexual revolution. They received neither Fatwas nor bodyguards. Today, Seyran Ateş - a Turkish- German lawyer, feminist, and one of the first female imams in Europe - is fighting for a sexual revolution within Islam. In return, she was shot, received fatwas and death threats, and now has to live under constant police protection.
Seyran believes the only way to fight against radical Islam is through Islam, which is why, in her liberal mosque, there is no gender segregation or exclusion based on sexual orientation. This is the story of Seyran’s personal and ideological fight for the modernization of Islam. Her quest for change takes her on a journey around the world, meeting with different people connected through faith, from sex workers in a German brothel to Uyghur LGBTQ youth and traditional female imams in China. It is also a journey through Seyran’s life, from her humble beginnings as a Muslim girl in Turkey’s slums to a female leader daring to challenge her own religion. Seyran rebels against extremism and hate in the name of peace and love.
Director: Nefise Özkal Lorentzen
Nefise Özkal Lorentzen is a Turkish-Norwegian writer, filmmaker and producer living in Oslo. She received her B.A in Political Science at Bosphorus University in Istanbul and her M.A in Media and Communication at the University of Oslo.
Over the past two decades, she has produced and directed several controversial documentaries related to Islam. As a result of her dedication to LGBTQ people and human rights activism through her films, she's been named one of the TOP 10 immigrant role models in Norway. Her trilogy of films entitled, Gender Me (2008), A Balloon for Allah (2011), and ManIslam (2014), brings alive these untold stories through public visibility.
Nefise has received several awards and nominations, and her films have premiered in several prestigious festivals such as the IDFA, the Rhode Island Film Festival, and the Göteborg Film Festival to just name a few. She was nominated for the History Makers Award in NYC. Utilizing her workshop concept, "gender activism through films", she has been cooperating with various NGOs, and hopes one day gender segregation and violence against women will be a long-forgotten aspect of history.
