Program ENGLISH

Here, you can find information on the events around HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TÜRKE! in English

Sunday, 30.10.2022 the program starts at 11am…

PRODUCING FILMS IN FRANKFURT – THEN AND NOW

Filmstill © Cobra Film

Film Screening and Q&A
11.00 Harmonie – Arthouse Kino Frankfurt
GUESTS Gerd Huber (Producer Cobra Film),  Enkelejd Luca (Author and Director behind the screens)
PRESENTATION Felix Fischl

30 years ago, producer Gerd Huber was involved in the making of HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TÜKE! for Munich-based production company Cobra Film. He can provide a first-hand account of the shooting, the financing, as well as the challenges and lucky breaks during the production of the film. In a conversation with Enkelejd Luca, author and director behind the screens, visitors learn how films for cinema and TV are made in Frankfurt – then and now. What does it mean when a production company not from Hessen shoots here? What was film funding in Hesse like back then? Where were crew and staff accommodated? And were there still enough young professionals for the industry?

In cooperation with the Arthouse Kinos Frankfurt – Harmonie and the Filmhaus Frankfurt e.V.


FILM NARRATIVES AND IMAGES OF BIPOC IN GERMAN CINEMA

Filmstill © Cobra Film

Panel at the DFF Cinema Following the Film Screening
11.00 at Kino im DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum
GUESTS Şiir Eloğlu, Soleen Yusef und Dieu Hao Do
CONCEPT, CURATION AND PRESENTATION Canan Turan
Advance booking at www.dff.film/kino

German cinema must become more diverse! Also true: the so-called “migrant film” developed as early as the 1960s, and many filmmakers with a family history of immigration have made their own transnational cinema since the 1990s. How have the narratives and images of BIPOC in film changed? Which roles do the social context, (different) narrative perspectives, as well as societal and political discourses play in this? What can we learn from history – and what will the future bring? We want to talk about these topics with actress Şiir Eloğlu (Ayşe in HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TÜRKE!), director Soleen Yusef (SKYLINES, DEUTSCHLAND 89) and Dieu Hao Do (AT THE END OF THE WORLD; JUST PUSH ABUBA).

“BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. These terms are political self-identifications, which means they have arisen from resistance and to this day stand for the struggles against oppression and for more equity and equality.” Source: Migrationsrat Berlin e.V. [Translation by Film- und Kinobüro Hessen]

In cooperation with the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum.


MATINEE WITH DORIS DÖRRIE

Filmstill © Cobra Film

Film Screening and Q&A
12.00 at Mal Seh’n Kino
GUEST Doris Dörrie
PRESENTATION Ruth Fühner
Advance booking at www.malsehnkino.de

To be a foreigner abroad. To be made into a foreigner where one is at home. To be anxious about what is foreign. Or seems to be. The longer one looks at these words, the more foreign they look back. The foreign complex has occupied Doris Dörrie as a filmmaker and author time and again: In her latest comedy FREIBAD in which even several locals are foreign to each other, but form alliances as soon as seemingly more foreign people appear. In her new book Die Heldin reist (The Heroine Travels) which deals with her own experiences of being foreign – exciting and painful ones – in Japan and elsewhere. The movie HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TÜRKE! from the year 1992 (the year of the racist attacks in Rostock) also deals with being foreign and being made foreign – and is about playing with stereotypes. The Frankfurt setting, in its beginnings as a film city back then, was, in turn, foreign ground to Dörrie that held special challenges. All this will be the topic of the discussion after the screening.

In cooperation with Mal Seh’n Kino and Kinothek Asta Nielsen.


MEMORIES AND CAREER PATHS

Filmstill © Cobra Film

Film Screening and Talk with the Actors and Actresses
14.00 Uhr at CineStar Metropolis
GUESTS Hansa Czypionka, Özay Fecht, Lambrecht Hamel, Doris Kunstmann, Şiir Eloğlu und Leon Ömer Şimşek
PRESENTATION Rana Ayhan
Advance booking at www.cinestar.de/

The film talk organized in co-operation with the Turkish Filmfestival Frankfurt International shines a light on the careers of the actors and actresses as well as their personal memories of shooting HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TÜRKE! in Frankfurt. While Lambert Hamel and Doris Kunstmann could already look back on several years of experience at the time, Özay Fecht, Şiir Eloğlu and Leon Ömer Şimşek were only at the beginning of their careers. Which memories do the actors and actresses have of the film shooting, and what has happened in the last 30 years? Which impact did their roles in HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TÜRKE! have on their further careers? What kind of experience was it to be filming in Frankfurt, and what does it feel like to come back?

In cooperation mit dem CineStar Metropolis and the Turkish Filmfestival Frankfurt International.


LISTENING TO A FILM

Filmstill © Cobra Film

An Audio Described Film Experience (without a Projection)
14.00 at DIALOGMUSEUM
GUESTS Heinz Hofmann, Hörfilmproduktion
PRESENTATION Florian Schneider, T_OHR
Advance booking at www.dialogmuseum.de

How do blind or partially sighted people experience movies? You have  a chance to find that out at Dialogmuseum.

The visit will start with a short collective walk to the cinema through the DIALOG IM DUNKELN (DIALOGUE IN THE DARK) – an exhibition for the discovery of the invisible. Small groups of visitors are guided by blind or visually impaired experts through a lightless, scenographic exhibition.

Having arrived at the cinema, we will listen to the audio described film HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TÜRKE! in absolute darkness. After the projection, we will talk to the makers of the audio description about this special text form. Its art lies in capturing in just a few words the central elements of the storyline, the setting, the décor, but also gestures and facial expressions.

The DIALOGMUSEUM is both, a social enterprise and a museum. Through the incomparable role reversal, the senses and empathy are trained, and inclusion can be experienced directly.

In cooperation with DIALOGMUSEUM and T_OHR – Zentrum für Sehbehinderten- und Blindenreportage in Gesellschaft und Sport.


ON THE HANDLING OF RACISM, FEMINISM, AND EMPOWERMENT IN THE FILMS HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TÜRKE! AND FREIBAD

Filmstill © Cobra Film

Film Screenings and Q&A with Doris Dörrie
14.00 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TÜRKE! and 17.15 FREIBAD
at Pupille – Kino in der Uni
GUEST Doris Dörrie
CONCEPT, CURATION AND PRESENTATION Canan Turan Advance booking at www.pupille.org

Even though 30 years have passed between the two films, racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination are central aspects of the narratives in HAPPY BIRTHDAY TÜRKE! (1992) as well as in FREIBAD (2022). While private investigator Kemal Kayankaya has to grapple with racist attacks by the Frankfurt police force and white citizens, Ilter and other female figures have to face patriarchy (on top of that). The FLINTA* in Doris Dörries’ newest film, on the other hand, oppose each other hostilely at first: white feminism à la Alice Schwarzer meets empowered Muslim women and other BIPOC, the older generation meets the younger one, cisgender meets trans*gender, progressive meets conservative. How does Doris Dörrie deal with the tension between empowerment and discrimination on a narrative and aesthetic level respectively? During this panel, we want to talk to the director about all this and more.

„FLINTA* is a German acronym that stands for women, lesbians, inter, non-binary, trans and agender* people. It is the attempt to find a term for a group of people who are not [endo-]cis-male.“ Source: WECF – WOMEN ENGAGE FOR A COMMON FUTURE e.V. Deutschland [Translation by Film- und Kinobüro Hessen]

In cooperation with Pupille – Kino in der Uni.


„SUPERFICIALLY TURKISH“ – TRACKING DIVERSITY

Filmstill © Cobra Film

VHS Workshop Followed by a Visit to the Cinema
15.00 – 17.00 at BiKuZ
17.30 Uhr Film Screening at Filmforum Höchst
RAUM 152 im Bildungs- und Kulturzentrum Höchst (BiKuZ)
COURSE LEADER Alba Seibt
Booking at www.vhs.frankfurt.de under course number 0108-01

In his novel Happy Birthday, Türke!, Jacob Arjouni created in Kemal Kayankaya a literary figure that seems to belong nowhere, is looked at mistrustingly and who (en)counters everyday racism with sarcastic humor.

The book is the basis for the film of the same name by Doris Dörrie (1992), which will be watched jointly at the cinema following the VHS-workshop. Zusatzkosten: 7 € (vor Ort an der Kinokasse zu entrichten).

Without a wagging finger and with humor, Kayankaya’s investigations shine light on social injustices which have not lost their topicality since the first publication of the novel in 1985.

Participation is possible without having already read the book. Text passages relevant to the workshop will be read out loud and contextualized so we can talk about them and ask ourselves: „How can we (en)counter prejudices, exclusions, and ascriptions in everyday life?“

In cooperation with VHS-Frankfurt.


LOCATION TOURS

Filmstill © Cobra Film

with Christian Setzepfandt
15.00
DURATION 1,5 Stunden
MEETING POINT Haupteingang des Frankfurter Hauptbahnhofs
Advance booking at www.frankfurter-stadtevents.de

On the occasion of the first edition of the cinema festival FRANKFURT SCHAUT EINEN FILM, we will offer a guided tour of Frankfurt that will focus on the cinematic history of Frankfurt. You can look forward to an exciting round tour with Christian Setzepfandt and hear a lot of interesting information on the topic of film culture in Frankfurt.

In cooperation with Stadtevents Frankfurt.


FROM BOOK TO SCREENPLAY TO FILM

Filmstill © Cobra Film

Reading with the Main Cast: Özay Fecht and Hansa Czypionka
17.30 Uhr at Orfeos Erben (Reading takes place in the restaurant)
GUESTS Hansa Czypionka and Özay Fecht
PRESENTATION Dr. Eva Hielscher
Advance booking at www.orfeos.net

A macho with a big heart, a seasoned drunk, but an appealing figure, a childlike character, a hard-boiled detective; Turk, German, Hessian, Frankfurt-based. Manifold are the de- and ascriptions of the title character Kemal Kayankaya. His inherent antagonisms and contradictions constitute the characters charm and have delighted the literary audience for more than two decades in – all in all – five novels by Jacob Arjouni (née Bothe). Kayankaya was expertly embodied in the filmic adaptation of the first novel by Hansa Czypionka. The anti-hero fighting for justice was the first leading role for the rising actor who, before, had been playing theater parts in Bochum under Claus Peymann and film ones in movies by Dominic Graf and Klaus Emmerich.

The female title role was embodied by actress Özay Fecht. The actress had little in common with the grieving widow Ilter Hamul, who in the film continuously and with ease subverts the supposed contrasts between traditional and modern, self-confident and reserved, distant and caring. In interviews, Fecht explained, that empathizing with others is what makes her profession so appealing. For her outstanding embodiment of the migrant worker Turna in 40 QM DEUTSCHLAND, Fecht received the German Film Award as early as 1985.

Before the film, Hansa Czypionka will read from the novel and, joined by Özay Fecht, from the script. Together, they will talk about their memories of the film shooting in Frankfurt.

In cooperation with Orfeos Erben and Diogenes Verlag.


PLACES OF MIGRATION

Filmstill © Cobra Film

Film Screening, Analysis, and Discussion
17.30 at Filmforum Höchst
GUESTS Welcoming by Doris Dörrie, Q&A with Leon Ömer Şimşek following the screening
PRESENTATION Alba Seibt
Advance booking at www.filmforum-höchst.de

Where can places of migration be found in Frankfurt? What characterizes them today and in the film from 30 years ago? A group of young professionals dealt with these questions as part of a workshop. The group will showcase their impressions before the film while Doris Dörrie is present.

After the film, actor and theatre director Leon Ömer Şimşek and literary scholar Alba Seibt will talk about images of Frankfurt in film, about German society of the early 1990s, the changes over the years, about concepts of home and foreignness and about the moment(s) when the two become synonymous.

In cooperation with Filmforum Höchst, VHS Frankfurt, and Joblinge.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TÜRKE! IN THE CONTEXT OF FRANKFURT’S CRIME GENRE HISTORY

Filmstill © Cobra Film

Film Screening and Talk with Jan Seghers
19.00 at EKINOS
GUESTS Matthias Altenburg aka Jan Seghers
PRESENTATION Rudolf Worschech (epd film)
Advance booking at www.cineplex.de/frankfurt/

When in 1985 the novel Happy Birthday, Türke! by author Jakob Arjouni, who died in 2013, the city’s crime genre scene began to develop. Frankfurt, the city of contrasts with the second to highest crime rate in Germany, with its central station quarter and bank towers, river and airport, was the ideal setting for bigger and smaller literary crimes. One of the most prominent crime authors who live here is Matthias Altenburg who writes his famous novels about charismatic Kriminalhauptkommissar Robert Marthaler under the pseudonym Jan Seghers. All six novels have been adapted to film by the ZDF. In the talk following the film, Matthias Altenburg will speak about crime literature in Frankfurt and the inspirations for his works.

In cooperation with EKINOS Frankfurt.


FILM SCREENING AND CLOSING DISCUSSION

Filmstill © Cobra Film

20.00 at Cinema – Arthouse Kinos Frankfurt
GUESTS Doris Dörrie, Gerd Huber, Özay Fecht, Labert Hamel, Doris Kunstmann, Şiir Eloğlu und Leon Ömer Şimşek
PRESENTATION Manja Malz
Advance booking at www.arthouse-kinos.de

FRANKFURT SCHAUT EINEN FILM will find its festive conclusion in a panel discussion with the film team. At the end of the day, we will jointly look back at the conversations held, collect results, and summarize what has already been said. In this final conversation, we want to talk not just about the film, but also about the place where films most beautifully come to life– the cinema.

The event will be moderated by the Hamburg-based cinema maker Manja Malz, who, six years ago, initiated EINE STADT SIEHT EINEN FILM, the first cinema festival of this kind in Germany.

In cooperation with Arthouse Kinos Frankfurt – Cinemá.


ORIGINAL MATERIALS FROM THE PRODUCTION PROCESS

Archivfoto Continuity ©Cobra Film

Exhibition at DFF
Viewable during the opening hours of the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum
Thu. 27.10. – Sun. 30.10.22 between 10.00 and 21.00 Uhr
Ground-floor of the Film Museums located at Schaumainkai 41
Free entry!

Between Thursday, October 27, and Sunday, October 30, the DFF is showing a small presentation of original materials from the production process of the movie. Images and documents give an impression not just of the area surrounding Frankfurt Central Station but also of the film shooting in the early 1990s, a photo gallery illustrates the development of the film’s characters in their details as well as their sometimes stereotypical, humorous, and unsentimental arrangement: the film appears as a portrait of its time. Reviews shed light on the reception of the film upon its premier at the Hof International Film Festival in October 1991.

In cooperation with the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum.