Debate X NZIFF #14: Hysteria

DEBATE X NZIFF | REVIEW | WEB EXCLUSIVE

Written by Nathan Cosmic (he/him) | @nathan.cosmic GenKlytusEyes | Contributing Writer

For a film named Hysteria, the opening scene creates an subtler atmosphere of creeping doom. Showing black and white CCTV footage of a fire encroaching onto unaware sleeping bodies in a house, children wriggling in their beds asleep while fire lurks under their bedroom door, it is traumatically nostalgic of fire prevention ads. An abrupt cut shows it is a set based upon the racist arson attack of 1993 in Solingen, Germany, that killed a Turkish family. The director of this recreation is a Turkish German named Yigit (Serkhan Kaya), who sets out to make a film based upon the racial violence inflicted upon immigrants during the 90s. He directs a group of extras who are Arab refugees in exploring the aftermath of the arson attack, wanting an authentic touch to his film. When one extra discovers a burnt Quran, production is put into a bonfire of chaos, blame, and blackmail.

Hysteria is as cunning as it is relevant to the modern-day audience. The film tackles the idea of hijacking narratives for personal gain - something all too common in the internet age, where a simple incident is injected with religious, cultural, and political prejudices. In the end, The suspects form a circling fire squad of who is guilty not only for the crime of disrespecting the Quran, but for stealing the film’s tapes. Elif, a university intern and the character we see the film through, loses the keys to the set, the scene of the crime, and goes down a path of lies and negligence to try to protect her own career. The extras dislike the director and producer who make Arab films with a Eurocentric view, yet some of them have their own aspirations in the film industry, causing some to sell out others, but are fearful of deportation if found guilty. Meanwhile, the producer Lillith wants the insurance money after the film is reported to the Ministry of Culture. Then the director, who loved the pure reactions of the disgusted extras of the burnt Quran, wants the film released with the burnt Quran.

Writer, director, and producer Mehmet Akif Büyükatala creates a sophisticated complex of today's social problems. Whether it is the portrayal and exploitation of Arab cultures, or the extent of artistic freedom, the audience's mind is buzzing around - not only because of the whodunnit, but from the layers Büyükatala puts into the story's commentary of normal people getting radicalised and divided. The ending is a masterpiece and is emblematic of our frantically self-destructive 21st-century world.