“Are Leon and Yannick taking advantage of me?” asks Meryem Öz. “Or are they actually there for me?” These are exciting questions because they are at the core of the radio feature Fifty Shades of Meryem touch. Leon Daniel and Yannick Kaftan, both born in 1990, are filmmakers who have been working together since their training. And in their first radio work they portray the actress Meryem Öz, an ensemble member at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg with her first roles in film and television. Or is Öz portraying himself here? Because the woman in her mid-twenties wants to determine her public image autonomously. But what role does the two authors and directors play? What self-image do they have – do they actually see it as their job to “be there” for their protagonist? Conversely, it is a legitimate question from Meryem Öz as to where fair reporting ends and something that one perceives as being exploited, as an (abusive) reinterpretation of one’s own history, begins.
Meryem Öz cleverly uses the freedom that the authors offer her
The arrangement of Fifty Shades of Meryem So it’s exciting, but also quite tricky. The program is an original sound feature, there are no interview questions, no explanatory passages, no comments by the authors. The two do appear – but as part of a scene and not as reporters. This makes this portrait very dynamic and powerful overall. And yet, as you notice over time, it is very structured and reflective. On the one hand, this is very much due to Meryem Öz, who doesn’t abuse the feature for a big ego show, but rather wants to tell something essential. But it is also up to Leon Daniel and Yannick Kaftan, who choreograph these shadows cast by Meryem Öz.
And who, together with Öz, also move their feature away from the form of the portrait. The audience doesn’t learn too much about the actress’s specific life path. Instead, and this is far more relevant, a lot about German society, the cultural industry – and what kind of adaptation it takes to become a part of it as a daughter of Turkish parents. How much leeway theater leaves when one’s own biography and socialization play a role – which is central to Meryem Öz. And to what extent this path has alienated them from their roots. “Culture,” Öz says at one point, “has ensured my social advancement.” Previously she said that her family didn’t understand her job.
Fifty Shades of Meryem, DLF Audio Library.