Malik Isasis
DirectorMalik Isasis is an American director, screenwriter, and producer known for his socially realistic works. He became known to a wider audience in 2023 as co-director of the film ÖTE, together with Esra Saydam. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and uses poetic imagery to tell the story of a black woman's solo journey through Turkey with a minimalist structure and quiet emotionality.
ÖTE (2023, directed by Malik Isasis and Esra Saydam) is a cinematic love letter to solo travel that departs from classic narrative styles to show the spirit of intercontinental travel and personal transformation in haunting images.
Malik Isasis' other works include independent short and feature film projects such as Bitter Sugar (2021, producer), New York Decalogue (2011, producer), and Lena's Complicated Machine (2015, producer), which are listed in his filmography.
Films
Recommended for you
Indian Summer
2015 | 87 min | Documentary
Apart from the obligatory visits to the Louvre and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a livestock transporter and the statues of ancient deities also become an occasion for cultural exchange. France, England, Holland and Italy are on the itinerary. In between are Belgium, Ireland, Austria and of course Switzerland, the absolute highlight of the trip. Ever since a slew of Bollywood films were shot in Switzerland, the land of the Alps has become the very epitome of Europe for many Indian people. Anna, the ...
The Circle in Which She Travels
2010 | 25 min | Drama
19-year-old Luisa travels to Mexico to search for her Mexican roots, which her mother kept secret from her. She wants to find her grandfather, whom she has never met. All she knows is that he lived in a small mountain town in Mexico and that the name is “Villa”. What she doesn't know is that the famous Mexican revolutionary from 1910 has the same name and that every Mexican knows the name of the national hero. During her search, she meets a young man named Memo, who offers to help her. Torn between ...
Towards Jerusalem
1990 | 85 min | Documentary
The film moves from the lights of Tel Aviv discos to the immigrant housing of Ethiopians to the burial site of Samuel the Prophet, capturing the voices and vistas of contemporary Israeli culture and politics.(National Center for Jewish Film) "An expressive overview of Israel in 1990" (Süddeutsche Zeitung) What became of the dream of a Jewish homeland? In this documentary road movie, Austrian filmmaker Ruth Beckermann records the diverse views and activities of Israelis and Arabs as she travels ...
Living Together
2022 | 90 min | Documentary
In the heart of Vienna, a pioneering initiative funded by the EU and spearheaded by the city itself embarked on a mission to foster integration among refugees and newcomers, guiding them through the maze of a new cultural landscape. LIVING TOGETHER, directed by Thomas Fürhapter, delves into this intricate process, portraying the lives intertwined in this communal learning journey. The film, through the lens of Judith Benedikt and Klemens Koscher, captures the essence of adaptation, camaraderie, and ...
Transit
2016 | 44 min | Comedy
Every man is an abyss, with the exception of Dieter (55). When out of the blue his wife Tamara takes off to Mont Saint Michel, leaving the endless repetition of their life together behind, Dieter is forced to leave the security of his row house cocoon for the first time. Aided by congenial vagabond and street philosopher Ronen (38), Dieter embarks on a journey that will confront him with the impossibility of escaping one's self.
Here I am... Here you are
2017 | 69 min | Documentary
In a state of limbo between Europe - the promised land for homosexuals, which nevertheless remains unattainable - and Arab reality, where his very being is rejected, the filmmaker seeks solace in the companionship of the couple. Back in his homeland, the director grapples with his difficult relationship with his father as well as a society that views homosexuality as an anomaly. Raed's film is an attempt to create a hypothetical everyday life from the moments they experience together. He questions ...
Matadoras
2021 | 26 min | Drama
Caught between German stuffiness and Argentinian religiosity, Madi discovers her own sexuality. Madi and her sister Lucia grow up with their Catholic Argentinian mother and their pragmatic German father. The matriarch Dolores loses herself in clichés while their father August pursues his stereotypical role as breadwinner. When Dolores has to spend a long time in hospital for inexplicable reasons, her father takes over the running of the household and is not only overwhelmed with the two adolescent ...
Polar Bear
2017 | 70 min | Drama
On a Saturday morning, 39-year-old Heriberto takes his former elementary school friends, Flor and Trujillo, on a ride across Mexico City to attend a class reunion. On the road, the three of them recall good old times until gradually Flor and Trujillo start becoming the bullies they once were with Heriberto as kids. Yet today, 25 years later, Heriberto will strike back, or won’t he? "By any measure, one of the year’s most ambitious Mexican films." (Variety) "OSO POLAR is an emotional roller-coaster!" ...
Never Sleep Again
1992 | 92 min | Drama
An episodic story of encounters that three friends - Rita, Lilian and Roberta - experience as they travel to a wedding in Berlin by boat. Rita's unexpected encounter with a past lover forces the premature end to the festive trip. Marooned in the sands of the Brandenburg countryside, they embark on a wild odyssey, full of euphoric drifting and challenging situations. A blissful feeling of homelessness. The car's tires are stolen, hotels and guesthouses are full. There is no turning back "And what ...
Between Home - Odyssey of an Unusual Sea Bandit
2012 | 95 min | Documentary
It all began in a Berlin bar when Australian Nick Jaffe met ex-pat filmmaker Jack Rath. Nick came to Germany to explore his family roots through the line of his father, who had died when Nick was a baby. As a way of connecting the two poles of his life, Nick, at 25, was planning to make a solo 26,000 km sea voyage from Europe back to Australia on a small sailboat. Nick had never sailed before in his life. Driven by an idealistic determination not to ‘sell out’ and settle down like his peers, Nick, ...