On the 29th of May 1993, evil struck as a large family of Turkish asylum seekers slept in their beds in the German city of Solingen. The latest in a spree of anti-foreigner attacks, four men with extreme far right leanings, set fire to the family’s home. In the wreckage, five people between the ages of 27 and 5 were dead, and it would go down as one of the worst instances of racist violence in modern Germany.
30 years later, German based Turkish filmmaker Yigit (Serkan Kaya) along with his producer and partner Lilith (Nicolette Krebitz), are making a film about this cruel time. They film a controlled house fire, and for added realism, hire some locals from a nearby refugee centre to act as extras during the clean-up. The scene is effective with the amateurs turning in raw and emotional performances. Until one of them makes a discovery, something that is a true horror to some and completely inconsequential to others; a real Quran was used as a prop in the house fire…
Some of the extras are incensed by this desecration, some indifferent. Yigit is happy with his scene and Lilith entrusts the footage to the young intern and second assistant director, Elif (Devrim Lingnau). Elif is fresh out of college and thrilled to be working under her idol, Lilith. But in trying to cover up one mistake, Elif allows another, and before she knows it, she finds herself stuck in a complex world of secrets, lies and paranoia. In the face of growing tensions over sensitive issues, Elif‘s dream job turns into a nightmare that she cannot escape from.
Hysteria comes written and directed by Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay, making his follow up to his award-winning debut feature, Oray (2019). Part satire, part meta commentary on the exploitative nature of “culturally aware” filmmaking and a takedown of what people do and do not find offensive. As preview night film for the 2025 HSBC German Film Festival, it brought nail biting tension and even a few laughs to its audience.
Built around a thriller of a character trying to find their way out of a hole which only gets deeper the more they keep digging, Hysteria hits on many prevalent talking points. Admittedly, heading into the film, I was somewhat dubious due to the possibility it would be a potentially self-righteous and obvious story about the evils of racism in modern Europe.
The thing is, very early on the character Mustafa (Aziz Çapkurt), a former theatre director now asylum seeker extra, accuses Yigit of making EXACTLY that type of movie. For how heartbreaking the story of the Solingen massacre is, a movie about it is hollow when a filmmaker just reinforces the cinematic portrayal of Muslims as only ever being either terrorists or victims. Although, at the same time, Mustafa feels as if he somehow has ownership over his people’s suffering. He and Yigit are cut from the same cloth, yet because Yigit is a second-generation immigrant and successful, he is less worthy of telling this story.
This divide between the characters fuels much of the conflict throughout the story. Lies, egos, obnoxiousness and greed all poison the well, so even when a peaceful resolution seems in reach, the characters let it slip through their fingers. Elif shuns her own father because his kind nature allows for people to take advantage of him. In such a case THEY would be the assholes not him, but Elif resents his generosity regardless.
Hysteria is a film where you may leave despising everyone, as director Büyükatalay pulls no punches. Any situation where his characters may be righteous is marred by their own actions later. It’s a very different film to Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing’ (1989), yet I love how Hysteria taps into that same level of complexity with its characters. Chiefly, their refusal to respect and be attuned to the perspectives of others.
Even beyond that level of empathy, Hysteria is a taught nail biter that will leave you with knots in your stomach. Like a pressure cooker, Hysteria builds to an almost inevitable explosion, as we see the story through the eyes of Elif and the mystery of who can she trust instils a level of dread and anxiety, with Elif‘s amateur digital surveillance and information gathering generating some incredibly chilling moments. All of this and she just wanted to get a foot in the door of Hollywood!
Hysteria is an intense look at human nature and the ever-growing chaos surrounding race and religion. When even people from the same background can turn on each other over minor differences, the world really is a scary place, either because we refuse to understand one another, or refuse to let things slide we’re just never going to get along.
Some may see Hysteria as a black comedy but that’s more because our world is so ridiculous at times. So, when a film such as this reflects that same fractured human nature so accurately, sometimes the only thing we can do is laugh.
Hysteria will be playing as part of the 2025 HSBC German Film Festival.
Festival dates below:
CANBERRA: 30 April – 21 May
SYDNEY: 1 – 21 May
MELBOURNE: 2 – 21 May
BALLARAT: 2 – 21 May
ADELAIDE: 7 – 28 May
BRISBANE: 7 – 28 May
PERTH: 8 – 28 May
BYRON BAY & BALLINA: 8 – 28 May
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://germanfilmfestival.com.au
https://germanfilmfestival.com.au/films/ger25-hysteria