Dying to Divorce: a documentary film by UK Female Filmmakers

An international group of female journalists and filmmakers has come together to highlight amazing women taking dramatic action to stop domestic violence and murder of women in Turkey. DYING TO DIVORCE, a brand new observational documentary from Chloe Fairweather and The Fuller Project For International Reporting, will be crowdfunding from the 25th October to 25th November- The UN’s International Day For the Elimination Of Violence Against Women. Over 30 domestic violence charities and campaigners were invited to a sneak preview of the film at the fundraising launch in Somerset House, where it received an extremely positive response.

Divorce is legal in Turkey but many women face mortal danger when they try to leave their partners. Nearly three hundred women were killed last year alone – the majority were seeking a divorce. And some men are literally getting away with murder by arguing that they were ‘provoked’ by their wives. The film willfollow a group of women lawyers, activists, MP’s and survivors as they tackle this violence head-on; fighting to change the law and to bring violent husbands to justice.

New documentary follows the extraordinary women fighting domestic violence in Turkey http://t.co/Jx8YN5TBqZ via @BelleJarTeam @FullerProject

— DyingToDivorce (@DyingToDivorce) October 19, 2015

Director Chloe Fairweather said ‘I hope to create something that addresses not just the problems in Turkey but provides an inspiration to other groups around the world trying to tackle the global issue of violence against women. I am also interviewing perpetrators to really explore the deeper motivations behind this violence’.

The film will profile two high profile two cases of women who were left severely disabled after alleged attacks by their husbands, including a former television news presenter. It will also follow MP Aylin Nazlıaka − who famously threatened to throw her shoe at the sexist deputies she faced in parliament, triggering a huge twitter campaign − as she pushes for a change in the provocation law.

Chloe Fairweather’s CBBC’s MR ALZHEIMERS AND ME, was the first ever children’s program to be shortlisted for a prestigious Grierson Award. Producer Sinead Kirwan’s STILL THE ENEMY WITHIN- was one of the most successful crowdfunded documentaries of 2014. DYING TO DIVORCE was developed with the Fuller Project For International Reporting (FPIR) in Istanbul, an organisation dedicated to in-depth reporting on the overlooked role of women in foreign policy. FPIR is led by Christina Asquith and Xanthe Ackerman, journalists experienced in investigating crimes against women. FPIR’s reporting recently appeared in the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, TIME, ELLE Magazine, CNN, The Guardian and VICE.

Christina Asquith is joined as Executive Producer by Natasha Dack. Natasha is co-managing director of Tigerlily Productions. Natasha has produced successful films including PLEASURELAND (C4), BLACK POWER SALUTE (BBC), AFTER THE APOCALYPSE (C4), PLUS TUBULAR BELLS (BBC4), Caligari Film Prize (Berlin), Best International Doc (HotDocs) and Best British Feat Doc (BritDoc) winner 37 USES FOR A DEAD SHEEP, the BAFTA nominated MCCULLIN and TRANSGENDER AND OVER 60 (Newsnight).

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