Head-On

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For other uses, see Head On.

Head-On
Head-On film poster
Directed by	Fatih Akın
Produced by	Fatih Akın, Andreas Schreitmüller, Stefan Schubert
Written by	Fatih Akın
Starring	Sibel Kekilli, Birol Ünel, Catrin Striebeck, Meltem Cumbul,
Distributed by	Strand Releasing (USA)
Release date(s)	12 February 2004
Running time	121 minutes
Language	German, Turkish
IMDb profile

Head-On (German title: Gegen die Wand; Turkish title: Duvara Karşı) is a 2004 film written and directed by Fatih Akın. At the 2004 European Film Awards, the movie won the "Best Film" and the "Audience Award".

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Cahit Tomruk (played by Birol Ünel) is a German of Turkish descent in his 40's. He has given up on life after the death of his wife. Furthermore, the anguish in his soul continues to cry out for cocaine and alcohol to numb his pain. One night, he intentionally crashes into a wall (hence the title), and barely survives. At the psychiatric clinic he is taken to, Sibel Güner (Sibel Kekilli), another German Turk who has tried to commit suicide, approaches him. She asks Cahit to carry out a formal marriage with her out of the blue so that she can break out of the strict rules of her conservative family. Cahit is turned off by the idea at first, but then he agrees to take part in this plan. As Sibel tells him frankly that she prefers an independent sex life, they live as roommates with separate private lives for a while. They eventually fall in love, and things take a different turn as Cahit kills one of her lovers out of jealousy and thus he has to go to prison. While he is in prison, she goes to Istanbul, to which he follows her upon his release.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Awards

The "Golden Bear" prize for the best movie at the "54. Berlinale" (Berlin International Film Festival) on February 14,
The golden prize in the category for the best actress at the "Deutscher Filmpreis" on June 18,
the "Quadriga" prize on October 3 in Berlin, Germany,
the "Silver Mirror Award" for the best "movie from the south" at the Film Festival on October 16 in Oslo, Norway,
the audience prize at the "9th Festival de Cine" on November 6-13 in Sevilla, Spain,
the "Golden Bambi" for the best shooting star at the "56. Bambi-Verleihung" on November 19 in Hamburg, Germany,
the golden "Gilde" prize for the best German movie 2003/2004 at the "Leipzig Film Fair",
the award for the best "European movie 2004" at the "European Film Prize" on December 11 in Barcelona, Spain.