Hysteria

WRITer & DIRECTor

Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay

Release Year

2025

STARRING

Aziz Çapkurt
Serkan Kaya
Nicolette Krebitz
Nazmi Kırık
Devrim Lingnau
Mehdi Meskar

A film shoot takes a dark turn when the burning of a Quran throws the crew into turmoil. Caught in accusations, intern Elif is drawn into a dangerous game of secrets and lies, finding herself at the heart of an all-absorbing conspiracy.

in co-production with ZDF / Das kleine Fernsehspiel, funded by Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Hessen Film und Medien, FFA and DFFF

German distribution Rapid Eye Movies |World sales Pluto Film

WORLD PREMIERE in Berlinale Panorama 2025

AWARDS

Berlinale – Panorama, Germany – Europa Cinemas Label for Best European Film
Filmkunstfest M-V, Germany – FIPRESCI Award
Hamptons Film Festival, US – Special Jury Prize for Screenwriting
Cologne FF, Germany – NRW Film Award
Hessischer Film- und Kinopreis 2025 – Special Jury Award for the acting ensemble

Writer & Director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
DOP Christian Kochmann
Production Design Mayte Hellenthal
Editor Denys Darahan & Andreas Menn
Costumes Marisa Lattmann
Make-up Rudeina Konstantini
Casting Kerstin Neuwirth
Light Can Köprülü
Original Sound René Nicklaus
Sound Design Steffen Pfauth
Sound Mixing Henning Hein
Line producer Mario von Grumbkow
Commissioning editor Christian Cloos
Producers Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay & Claus Herzog-Reichel
World Sales Pluto Film
Berlinale – Panorama, Germany
Istanbul FF, Turkey – Golden Tulip Competition
Lichter FF, Germany
Filmkunstfest M-V, Germany
Neiße Film Festival, Germany
Transilvania IFF, Romania
Atlàntida Mallorca FF, Spain
Edinburgh Film Festival, UK
Michael Moore’s TCFF TUESDAYS, US
Helsinki Intl’ Film Festival – Love & Anarchy, Finland
Athens International Film Festival, Greece
Festival do Rio, Brazil
Vancouver IFF, Canada
Hamptons Film Festival, US
Cologne FF, Germany
Hessischer Film- und Kinopreis 2025
Leiden Film Festival, Netherlands
Philadelphia Film Festival, US
Jakatar Film Week, Indonesia
Scanorama, Lithuania
German FF, China
Deutsche Filmtage Oslo, Norway
Vancouver Turkish FF, Canada
Deutsche Filmreihe Boston, US
Amed Film Festival, Turkey
Duhok IFF, Autonome Region Kurdistan
Les Arcs Film Festival, France
Ramdam FF, Belgium
SCREENDAILY
“Excellent satirical thriller.”
“As thought provoking as it is entertaining.”
“Well positioned for crowd-pleasing arthouse breakout success.”

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“Imagine Knives Out meets François Truffaut’s Day for Night, but set in a present-day
Germany rife with tensions about immigration and Islam”
“shrewdly structured genre flick”
“cleverly plotted whodunit”

INDIEWIRE
“Provocative and suspenseful sophomore feature.”
“Nimble and precise with turns of plot.”

LOUD AND CLEAR
“Smart, simmering thriller.”
“Great handle on tone, creating a sense of unease and mystery.”

LA ESTATUILLA
“A tense and realistic representation of non-representation.”
“Highly effective use of the thriller genre.”

EYE FOR FILMS
“Tense, paranoid thriller.”
“Explosive.”

CLOSE UP
“Intelligent reflection on the difficult art of religious tolerance.”
“A good genre film, based on an excellent original screenplay and a well-calibrated suspense.”

DIE ZEIT
“Fascinating thriller… Knocks you off your seat.”
“[Büyükatalay] has now firmly secured a place among the most important young filmmakers.”

CREATIVE CINEMATIC COLLECTION
“So far, the best film of the festival.”
“Eerie slow-burn that will get under your skin.”

CINENCUENTRO
“Absurd, comical, almost touching slapstick.”

THE MOVEABLE FESTIVAL
“Killer second feature.”