Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival 2009

Worlds collide in this sexy crime drama. Belgian police commissioner Jennifer and her Turkish girlfriend Selin are passionately in love and want to live together. But for Selin, it’s more complicated: she must keep her relationship secret while convincing her devout Muslim father that she needs an apartment. Painfully for Selin, he refuses, and only allows her to leave the family home when she marries a Turkish man. Posing as a respectable car dealer, Kadir, the charismatic head of a drug gang her brother has joined, spots Selin and is determined to have her. Though Selin reluctantly doles out only the tiniest bits of affection, her tradition-bound family agrees when Kadir asks her family for her hand. PROHIBITED SENSES is an arresting first feature film by Belgian-born Turkish writer-director Sumeya Kokten, who worked as a police officer. The film contains strong language and realistic depictions of the clash between anti-feminism and the emerging strength of independent Muslim women. PROHIBITED SENSES explores tradition and religion in a modern, multicultural world with freshness and enthusiasm.