The Impossible Marriage- Synopsis

 Documentary, 51 min. NL, 2010
directed by Diego Gutierrez, Linda Bannink & Erik Alkema

A contemporary love-story about Erik, a Dutch citizen, and his Turkish boyfriend Serhat.

A film about choices, featuring people, puppets and politicians against the backdrop of the current social and political climate in the Netherlands.

Erik is an Amsterdam based artist. He is not rich but he manages to make a living out of his art. According to his standards his life is successful. Not something to be questioned.

That changes when he falls in love with Serhat and they decide to spend the rest of their lives together. Preferably in the Netherlands, but this is easier decided than done.

According to Dutch legislation, they cannot live together in the Netherlands because Erik doesn’t earn enough money and is therefor considered unable to take care of his non-European boyfriend. That means that Serhat cannot stay if Erik doesn't change his way of life radically.

They get married anyway.

Knowing a lot of people in the same situation and being worried about the hardening attitude towards immigration, Erik decides to make a movie about their marriage. He asks his friends Diego Gutierrez and Linda Bannink, known for their sincere human interest documentaries, to help him.

This personal film follows the couple and the people close to them in the month before the wedding, switching between reality and Erik's world of reflective puppet-sketches and video-collages.

Video-adaptation of the lecture Erik did on the 6th of November 2010 in the Mediamatic, Amsterdam. A lecture about the documentary 'The Impossible Marriage'.