FILM · 2004 · GERMANY
Gegen die Wand
- Directed by
- Fatih Akin
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Studio
- Corazón International, Wüste Film, ARTE
18 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
With the intention to break free from the strict familial restrictions, a suicidal young woman sets up a marriage of convenience with a forty-year-old addict, an act that will lead to an outburst of envious love.
18 Interesting Facts About Gegen die Wand
Interesting Facts (11)
- #001
Birol Ünel could not travel to Turkey without being arrested because he had not completed his military service there. However, as stated on the DVD, the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) passed an amnesty at the last moment, allowing him to return to his country for the first time in 10 years and finish the film.
- #002
Sibel Kekilli, who has a rather prominent nose in the film, spent the money she earned from Head-On on a nose job.
- #003
In the opening scenes where Cahit appears completely drunk, Birol Ünel was not acting. He was genuinely completely drunk, having drunk heavily while waiting for hours for the scene to be set up.
- #004
It is the first German film in 17 years to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
- #005
The scene in which Cahit smashes glasses with his bare hands was shot using chemicals: Birol Ünel's hands were coated with a substance that turned red when it reacted with the liquid inside the (plastic) glasses.
- #006
All scenes were shot on location and almost exclusively with available light.
- #007
Most of the actors are wearing their own clothes. This was partly to help them inhabit their characters more naturally, but mainly to save money.
- #008
The first cut of the film ran 4 hours.
- #009
Sibel Kekilli was discovered in a shopping mall in Cologne.
- #010
In Istanbul, Cahit is staying at "Grand Hotel de Londres", which is also featured in Akin's movie The Edge of Heaven (2007).
- #011
The taxi drivers in Istanbul initially thought the opposite: the "Bavarian" was supposed to pick up Sibel, and the other was supposed to pick up Cahit from the airport.
Behind the Scenes (2)
- #012
In the scene where Cahit and Selma talk, Cahit actually starts speaking English, which was not in the script. Meltem Cumbul said that Birol Ünel did not feel comfortable speaking Turkish and kept speaking English instead of Turkish.
- #013
During shooting, Birol Ünel's doctor told him he had to stop drinking or he could die. This is why Ünel lost weight in the later parts of the film, but quitting alcohol at one point made him so ill that he had to pause filming.
Characters & Cast (4)
- #014
Director Fatih Akın auditioned more than 350 actresses for the role of Sibel.
- #015
All the actresses who played Sibel's three husbands in the couch scene had been considered for the role of Sibel.
- #016
Director Fatih Akin's brother Cem plays the part of Sibel's brother.
- #017
As the film began winning awards at international film festivals, lead actress Sibel Kekilli was "outed" by the German tabloid press for having been a former porn star. Kekilli responded in her acceptance speech at the 2004 Bambi Awards, reproaching the tabloid newspapers for "media rape."
Deeper Meaning (1)
- #018
In one of the Istanbul scenes, the black cat running from left to right had not yet been cast. In his own account, it was there adding symbolism.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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