About the Director

Aslı Özarslan, born in Berlin in 1986. She studied theatre and media at the University in Bayreuth, philosophy and sociology at the Université in Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), and documentary film direction at the film academy in Baden-Württemberg. In 2009, she realised her first short film, and in 2012, she created the eleven-minute video installation Kanak Sprak Bist Du for the Humboldt-Box about the topic Kiezdeutsch. Her film Insel 36 (2014) and her graduation film Dil Leyla (2016) won national and international awards.

Press Reviews

“Well played, entertaining, and consistently told from a young, female, migrant perspective.” (Fluter.de)

“She leaves her private tragedy in Germany behind, only to end up in a politically volatile situation in Turkey that is as obscure as the unwritten rules in Germany. She remains a fugitive, here and there.” (Filmdienst)

“A film that does not leave you cold and sparks discussions.” (Artechock.de)

The director about the film

“Shame is worse than fear,” Hazal angrily says to herself in the novel “Elbow” and thus reflects on her inner world. “Ellbogen” is a portrait of a young woman who pays a high price to free herself of social projections. Especially the crime and Hazal’s lack of remorse draw us in. Hazal turns away from the opinion of mainstream society. But she is neither a plain “victim” nor a model migrant who does everything right. She is a complex female character who does not fit into the perpetrator-victim-dichotomy. In our view, she is sometimes gruff but nevertheless sympathetic. She shows us the borders in society which are difficult to overcome. Hazal’s world is relatable for a lot of migrants in Germany and Europe, including me. It is a life that consists of constantly having to prove yourself. In Hazal, this society is revealed. Her strength deeply moves us.