Prize Against Discrimination

In the current wave of German-Turkish migrant dramas, films about the conflict between returning German-Turks and Turkish Turks are seldom to be seen. This year’s winner of the Prize Against Discrimination begins where most of the films dealing with migration and criminality end: with the deportation. The film tells a moving and vivid story about a young German-Turk deported to Istanbul who now seeks a homeland, self-determination and a proper station in life. In Turkey, German-Turks are given the title „Gurbetci“, which means roughly „foreigner“ or „Germany dweller“ in translation. This „Gurbetci“ without a homeland and his conflict are impressively framed in this film. The tension in the story is fueled primarily by the discrepancy between the aforementioned ignored rift between the German-Turkish world and the Turkish Turk world. In its exact description of these two different worlds, a gripping and visually dense drama unfolds about a broken teenager torn between his past and his future in a palpable atmosphere between dirty bordello rooms and stark harbor shots. The main character’s intense development lends this story a universal tone and leaves a long-lasting impression with the viewer. The film has successfully portrayed a double state of exile in all its potentials for conflict.

The Prize Against Discrimination goes to an impressive film that has thoroughly convinced the jury through its analysis of societal drawbacks.

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