Director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay presents Hysteria in KINO

Hysteria is Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay's second feature film. His debut, Oray, won the award for Best Debut Film at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2019. Besides his work as a director, Büyükatalay is also active as a screenwriter and producer. Recently, for example, he co-produced Volkan Üce's Belgian documentary 2m², which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam last February. From 29 May, Hysteria can be seen at KINO and in nine other film theatres in the Netherlands. To mark the release, Büyükatalay will be present on this evening for an exclusive Q&A evening in Rotterdam.

Hysteria is a multi-layered thriller that explores themes of migration, prejudice, identity and the representation of the other in Germany and, more broadly, the West. Combining tension with sharp social reflection, the film questions dominant narratives. When a burnt Koran is found on a film set, a production spirals into chaos. Accusations fly back and forth, tensions run high and the crew turns on each other. Central is 24-year-old Elif, who becomes entangled in a web of secrets and lies, ending up in an all-consuming conspiracy.

KINO takes initiative to show film to the public

Hysteria plays with and questions how migrant communities are viewed in Europe and how they are portrayed in Western media. In doing so, the film breaks prevailing perceptions and presents a new, refreshing narrative around migrant stories. As the film has no distributor in the Netherlands, the KINO team takes the initiative to show this urgent and topical film to the public on the big screen after all.