Seyran Ateş: Sex, Revolution and Islam

In her brand new documentary, filmmaker Nefise Özkal Lorentzen portrays the Imam, lawyer, writer, and feminist Seyran Ateş. The film focuses on her strong dedication as a Muslim human rights activist and spiritual leader. We meet Ateş in her natural habitat: in the mosque that she has founded in Berlin, which is open and inclusive for women and men regardless of sexual orientations. She openly speaks of her challenging, but highly rewarding work, and we see her in situations where she relays her clear-cut perspectives on a religion and a society which are not always as tolerant as they could be.

Ateş encourages no less than a sexual revolution within Islam. As a direct consequence of her work, she has been shot at, had fatwas and death threads aimed at her, and she is living under constant police protection. This powerful documentary provides a unique insight into the life and work of Ateş, illustrating the importance of someone standing up for equal rights withing the frameworks of religion. The price that Ateş pays for it is worryingly high.

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Director

Nefise Özkal Lorentzen (f. 1964) er en tyrkisk-norsk forfatter, regissør og produsent som bor i Oslo. Hun har produsert og regissert flere kontroversielle dokumentarer med islam som sentralt tema, deriblant Gender Me (2008), En ballong for Allah (2011) og ManIslam (2014).

This film is part of