Guy Lee Thys

Belgian-Dutch co-production (former working title: Mixed Kebab).

Haram Kebab is a film project by Guy Lee Thys (aided by a $ 1,000,000 production grant from the Flemish Film Fund VAF) to be produced in 2010 by Fact & Fiction Antwerp and Column Film Amsterdam.

Bram Aydin, 24, a Dutch-born Turk, hides his homosexuality out of fear of his conservative family that live in a colorful Muslim neighborhood in Antwerp. Bram, short for Ibrahim, meets Kevin, a sweet and cute 19-year-old who works in a popular diner owned by his bubbly mother Marina.
Furkan, 17, Bram’’s kid brother is a streetwise petty criminal. When Furkan finds out big brother Bram, who is always picking on him, leads a secret and in his eyes perverted life, he confronts his father with it. Mehmet doesn’’t believe his story or the blurry video that goes with it and gives him a severe beating.
To squelch the swirling rumors of Bram’s homosexual predilections, both Bram’’s mom Fatma and Mehmet think it might be wise for their first born to start his own family and marry his cousin Elif who just turned 18 and who lives close to Mehmet’’s native town of Emirdag. Bram accepts his fate, realizing he is doomed to live in hypocrisy. However, he wants to meet his bride-to-be in person first and asks Kevin to join him on a trip to Turkey.
The police pick up Furkan for his involvement in the hold-up of Marina’’s diner but they have to let him go for lack of evidence. Leaving the police station bruised and humiliated by a female cop, he is spotted by Anwar, a young and radical mullah recently emigrated from Pakistan. It is Anwar who legitimizes Furkan’s tendency for everyday street terror against everyone or everything considered “haram” (forbidden). But before transforming into a street imam, Furkan first settles his account with a dealer-pimp, Radu the Romanian, who’’d squealed on him.
Elif turns out to be a sexy girl with a taste for luxury she can’’t afford. Elif can’’t wait to leave Turkey, where she lives with her blind father Kemal in a holiday house, built by Bram’’s dad. She feels she has the status of the janitor’’s daughter and wants an upgrade. Bram understands that once in Belgium, Elif is going to cost him a fortune.
When Bram finally reveals his sexual interest in Kevin, the two young men experience a steamy love affair, which is soon discovered by Elif with some help from her admirer Yusuf, who works at the hotel where Bram and Kevin are staying. Elif won’t let Bram’s homosexuality ruin her wedding plans and her future in Europe and blackmails Bram into signing the prenuptial papers.
Kevin and Bram fly back to Belgium where Bram’’s parents, his three married sisters and their in-laws start planning the wedding.
Furkan of course knows what’’s afoot here. He hasn’’t forgotten the beatings he got from his dad. His older brother disgusts him.
In the mean time, the secret romance between Bram and Kevin has turned into a passionate affair. Bram feels bad about not being able to show his affection for Kevin in public and since Marina, Kevin’’s mother who’’d always suspected her son was gay, doesn’’t seem to mind at all, his frustration grows.
Furkan has found an eager ally in Yusuf who sends him compromising and quite explicit pictures of the gay couple.
To Bram this is the point of no return. He decides it is time to live his own life instead of always giving in to family and community and announces that he won’’t go through with the marriage. He moves in with his lover Kevin in a suite of rooms over Marina’’s diner.
The Aydins are utterly scandalized and see the neighborhood turn against them. Neighbors, friends and acquaintances turn their backs to the Aydins much to Fatma’’s and Mehmet’’s chagrin. Furkan, who in the mean time acts the part of a devote Muslim-–-and dresses accordingly–is now their only support. His moment has arrived. Someone has to avenge the family honor… but Furkan’’s hoodlum past will interfere with his murderous plan…

photo © 2007 by benny fonteyne