Gül Abus Semerci

The film takes place in three bathrooms. Two of them are side-by-side and the third sees the two right across the street. In these 3 places, 3 different couples and a young voyeur boy (actually an art student who researches for a project) are described in stories. At the core of these stories there are determinations of the nature of men and women, marriage and betrayal.

Onur travels from Ankara to Istanbul to attend his evening engagement party. On the way, he is overtaken by a bride driving a wedding car by herself. Onur meets the bride at a rest stop and has lunch with her. When he learns that the bride is going to Istanbul to find her fiancé, who left her at the altar, Onur finds himself in a comical adventure.

This documentary takes a close look at the passionate fans of the Turkish TV series industry, focusing on the way fans feel they belong to the stories, to the point of interfering with the actors and even the flow of the script. As a result of this passion, fans launch social media campaigns against the scriptwriters and try to ‘save’ their favourite characters, proving how strong this attachment is. On the other hand, the comments made by industry representatives about the fans and the cold face of their professional world are another striking aspect of the documentary. This dynamic, in which contrasting feelings such as admiration and arrogance, attachment and distance are experienced together, offers a portrait of the world of fiction and its fans.

“I Beg You To Like Me”, serves as a testimony of individuals who felt oppressed about their body image for not meeting the standard beauty criteria, and demonstrates how a reckless language based on others’ physical appearance could turn violent. It aims to achieve much more than simply stating the obvious, which is that we are not obligated to submit to the ideal beauty standards dictated by the media, consumerism and the beauty industry. The intimate stories about one’s own body image as told by women, men, disabled people and LGBT individuals make it apparent that any one of us could end up being a victim and a perpetrator at the same time. What if, this iconic body image is nothing but an unobtainable fallacy? “Is it not yet the time to openly discuss the conventional perception of beauty, and step up onto the catwalk in our actual likeness?

The film takes place in three bathrooms. Two of them are side-by-side and the third sees the two right across the street. In these 3 places, 3 different couples and a young voyeur boy (actually an art student who researches for a project) are described in stories. At the core of these stories there are determinations of the nature of men and women, marriage and betrayal.

Onur travels from Ankara to Istanbul to attend his evening engagement party. On the way, he is overtaken by a bride driving a wedding car by herself. Onur meets the bride at a rest stop and has lunch with her. When he learns that the bride is going to Istanbul to find her fiancé, who left her at the altar, Onur finds himself in a comical adventure.

This documentary takes a close look at the passionate fans of the Turkish TV series industry, focusing on the way fans feel they belong to the stories, to the point of interfering with the actors and even the flow of the script. As a result of this passion, fans launch social media campaigns against the scriptwriters and try to ‘save’ their favourite characters, proving how strong this attachment is. On the other hand, the comments made by industry representatives about the fans and the cold face of their professional world are another striking aspect of the documentary. This dynamic, in which contrasting feelings such as admiration and arrogance, attachment and distance are experienced together, offers a portrait of the world of fiction and its fans.

This documentary takes a close look at the passionate fans of the Turkish TV series industry, focusing on the way fans feel they belong to the stories, to the point of interfering with the actors and even the flow of the script. As a result of this passion, fans launch social media campaigns against the scriptwriters and try to ‘save’ their favourite characters, proving how strong this attachment is. On the other hand, the comments made by industry representatives about the fans and the cold face of their professional world are another striking aspect of the documentary. This dynamic, in which contrasting feelings such as admiration and arrogance, attachment and distance are experienced together, offers a portrait of the world of fiction and its fans.

“I Beg You To Like Me”, serves as a testimony of individuals who felt oppressed about their body image for not meeting the standard beauty criteria, and demonstrates how a reckless language based on others’ physical appearance could turn violent. It aims to achieve much more than simply stating the obvious, which is that we are not obligated to submit to the ideal beauty standards dictated by the media, consumerism and the beauty industry. The intimate stories about one’s own body image as told by women, men, disabled people and LGBT individuals make it apparent that any one of us could end up being a victim and a perpetrator at the same time. What if, this iconic body image is nothing but an unobtainable fallacy? “Is it not yet the time to openly discuss the conventional perception of beauty, and step up onto the catwalk in our actual likeness?

“I Beg You To Like Me”, serves as a testimony of individuals who felt oppressed about their body image for not meeting the standard beauty criteria, and demonstrates how a reckless language based on others’ physical appearance could turn violent. It aims to achieve much more than simply stating the obvious, which is that we are not obligated to submit to the ideal beauty standards dictated by the media, consumerism and the beauty industry. The intimate stories about one’s own body image as told by women, men, disabled people and LGBT individuals make it apparent that any one of us could end up being a victim and a perpetrator at the same time. What if, this iconic body image is nothing but an unobtainable fallacy? “Is it not yet the time to openly discuss the conventional perception of beauty, and step up onto the catwalk in our actual likeness?

“I Beg You To Like Me”, serves as a testimony of individuals who felt oppressed about their body image for not meeting the standard beauty criteria, and demonstrates how a reckless language based on others’ physical appearance could turn violent. It aims to achieve much more than simply stating the obvious, which is that we are not obligated to submit to the ideal beauty standards dictated by the media, consumerism and the beauty industry. The intimate stories about one’s own body image as told by women, men, disabled people and LGBT individuals make it apparent that any one of us could end up being a victim and a perpetrator at the same time. What if, this iconic body image is nothing but an unobtainable fallacy? “Is it not yet the time to openly discuss the conventional perception of beauty, and step up onto the catwalk in our actual likeness?