KOTTI
A short comedy about a bunch of misfits whose fight for justice captured the hearts of the nation
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Fabia MartinDirectorChef Peng
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Ally MackieWriter
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Oriane PickProducerI AM and Smudged Smile
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Anna SavvaKey Cast"Belgin"Xiomara Steadman in Casualty
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Emma AppletonKey Cast"Katya"Feef Symonds in Traitors, Renfri in The Witcher
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Hollie BuhagiarMusic ComposerFind the Light, Our Kind of Love, Poles Apart
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Michalianna TheofanopoulouSound DesignerLove has many colour, The Wick, Mudman
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Laura DinnettCinematographerYellowbird
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Jeanna MortimerEditor
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Giorgia Lee JosephProduction design
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Hannah HodgeCostume design
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Chloe EdwardsMakeup
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Zyrenka CoxCasting
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:comedy
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Runtime:10 minutes 52 seconds
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Completion Date:May 21, 2021
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Production Budget:28,353 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:16 mm film
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Aspect Ratio:2:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Imagine This Women's Film FestivalNew York
United States
Official Selection
Fabia Martin focuses on bringing real stories to the screen in original ways. Her background in journalism and factual TV development informs much of her work and compelling human-led stories such as KOTTI often serve as the starting point for her projects.
Recent work includes a three-part series for Passion Pictures about how climate change will affect the future of food (EAT UGLY), a commercial for Nike telling the story of the Air Max (GO BIGGER), and a documentary observing a Chinese chef's philosophy as he approaches the end of a forty-year career (CHEF PENG). She is also currently in post-production with BFI-backed short film called 'The Rev', which she both wrote and directed.
With KOTTI, Fabia aims to use the power of film and creative storytelling combined with a healthy dose of humour to highlight social injustice, raise awareness and give a voice to the marginalised.
In May 2012, Belgin Ozdemir put a notice in her window ‘They’re throwing me out, I’m going to kill myself.’
Like thousands of other residents in Berlin who were facing eviction due to ever increasing rents, Belgin had finally got to the end of her tether - what she didn’t account for was that her
neighbours would notice.
The sad reality is, that the situation for the residents of Kotti was far from unique. They were simply now among the of millions of people the world over who face homelessness and
uncertainty on a daily basis - what was different, was the way they reacted.
As a documentary maker, I am drawn to stories that reveal the hidden depths of humanity, something surprising, life affirming, challenging, uplifting – so when I discovered the neighbours of Kotti I knew theirs was a story that needed to be told.
The struggle of Kotti could easily have been forgotten as another of societies failures to combat entrenched social inequality, but instead it is a powerful story that shows us all how the underdog can overcome adversity. At a time when there is so much inequality, suspicion and fear in the world it’s refreshing to champion people who are willing to shed
their prejudices in favour of openness and collective progress. These are the stories I want to tell.
I believe the role of storytelling is not only to shed light on common injustices and unheard narratives, but to find the heart and humour within them. It is at this juncture between the
tragic and the comic, that the characters of Belgin and Katya thrive. On the face of it, these are two very different women who immediately rub each other up the wrong way but
underneath their icy fronts, they share far more in common than they would lead you to believe.
The notion of a common humanity lies at the heart of this film and is a reflection of the neighbourhood from which this group of Muslim immigrants, gay activists, punk squatters and communists came from. KOTTI offers a snapshot into the lives of two of these
characters and teases the wider context, but my ambition is to develop this further into a long-form series, in order to tell the whole story of what took place there in 2012. Over the
course of several months, drama unfolded as these strangers fought to save their homes against forces much greater than themselves and I’d love to create a series that could
include the lives and stories of the full colourful cast of characters that this neighbourhood represents.
It’s been an honour to have the opportunity to tell even part of this extraordinary story, and I just hope that this is just the start.