Yüz karasi (1981, Turkey)

A dramatised biography of the Turkish transsexual singer Bülent Ersoy. She is rated by many the best singer in Turkey; born in 1951 she had gender reassignment surgery in 1981. She was persecuted by the Evren government.

Interestingly she retained the first name Bülent, which is generally a boy's name in Turkey.

The film contains long sequences from live performances cut together and the actual dramatic sections suffer rather from low budgets.

Part of the dramatisation shows her when she was a boy -- here experimenting with lipstick.

And there is more exploration of her as an unhappy young man, visiting the parental home and being rejected by the father, and visiting a psychologist.

The full title of the film on the box is Söretin Sonu (Yüz karasi). Bülent Ersoy released a cd album entitled Yüz karasi, meaning "Shameful" at the same time as the film, but the full film title means "The End of Fame (Shameful)".

HF December 2007

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