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Hysteria

Hysteria - image - a film by Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
CENTREPIECE - 2025 GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL (30 APR-28 MAY)
Hysteria - poster - a film by Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
Excellent. As thought provoking as it is entertaining. Sharp-witted, measured and intelligent, Büyükatalay incrementally builds the tension, there's a sense of nervy mounting paranoia, of a pressure cooker about to blow. Even so, little can prepare us for the superbly staged explosive confrontation in the horribly funny final act.
Director: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
Cast: Devrim Lingnau, Mehdi Meskar, Serkan Kaya, Nicolette Krebitz, Aziz Çapkurt
Duration: 104mins
Country of Origin: Germany
CTC
Excellent. As thought provoking as it is entertaining. Sharp-witted, measured and intelligent, Büyükatalay incrementally builds the tension, there's a sense of nervy mounting paranoia, of a pressure cooker about to blow. Even so, little can prepare us for the superbly staged explosive confrontation in the horribly funny final act.

WINNER - 2025 BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL - Europa Cinema Label (Best European Film)
CENTREPIECE SELECTION - 2025 GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL

Award-winning writer/director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay's sharp, nail-biting new thriller follows the unfolding drama on a German film shoot after a burnt Quran is discovered on set, throwing the crew into turmoil. 

Trying to save the production, but caught in the crossfire of accusations, 24-year-old intern and second assistant director Elif (Devrim Lingnau, The Empress) - desperate to make it in the movie business - is drawn into a dangerous game of deception and escalating paranoia, finding herself at the heart of an all-absorbing conspiracy as the hunt for the culprit intensifies.

Rich in suspense, cleverly plotted and building to an unexpected climax, Büyükatalay’s provocative behind-the-scenes whodunit deftly handles the most inflammatory of hot button topics, offering a piercing reflection on the power of images to shape perceptions, the moral price of artistic integrity and the dynamics of representation.

Hysteria - poster - a film by Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay