Meli Bendeli: 'Fed up being shelved each time, I speeded up my reassignment process'

Click to read the article in Turkish

Trans actor Meli Bendeli wrote yesterday in a tweet that the role given to her in a new series for Netflix was taken back and that the reason was that she was wearing a skirt.

Meli Bendeli told bianet that she was offered a role in this production one and a half years ago at the Adana Film Festival.

"I was in the Adana Film Festival. The festival was hosting my film. The Şahmaran series was being shot in Adana too at that time and I was staying at the same hotel with the cast of the series. I was offered a role and the agreement was sent to my e-mail address even before I was introduced to the director. Then they looked at my CV and my previous work.

"During the festival, one day, the weather was very hot in Adana and I bought a skirt and wore it. And I walked to the hotel. They saw me walking wearing a skirt and then asked "Did you give the role to this?"

"They invited me once again to the audition after they saw me wearing a skirt. I tried to do what I can in this audition in low spirits. Of course, the director saw the video and said "No." And the agreement ended up in my mailbox, it was never signed.

"My reassignment process had not yet started"

"I had just started my body reassignment process, I was yet quite lacho* type, I did not

"The problem there was that they saw me wearing a skirt. I had started my reassignment process with my clothes. Otherwise, they had given me the role. They had spoken to my manager, the agreement had been sent. So what happened? What if you see me with a skirt outside? I would be acting a fairy tale character anyhow, so it was not a masculine role anyhow."

"But such incidents helped me in a way. I started and speeded up my reassignment process. There was no market left for me that I should watch for. I was fed up with being shelved each time. I did all I could.

Bendeli was awarded the "Best Promising Young Actor" in 2020 at the 27th International Golden Boll Film Festival and addressing the award ceremony said, "It will be completed for me if I can also take the "Best Promising Actress" award.

About Meli Bendeli

Born in 1989 in Ankara, the actor graduated from the Faculty of Language History and Geography at the Ankara University
Bendelli was recognized after acting in the play called "The Woyzeck Tale" directed by Erdal Beşikçioğlu and started to act in films and series in addition to theater plays starting in 2010.

Bendelli acted in "Hatırla Gönül" in 2015, started acting a prominent role in "Çukur" in 2018 but later left the series, and acted in "Cam Tavanlar" last, which ended in 2021.

Meli Bendeli has the leading role in a play first performed on November 19, 2021, called "Miriam is Mourning" directed by Elvin Beşikçioğlu.

* Means masculine in the Turkish queer language ("Lubunca")

(TY/PE)