Short Films

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Cinemania

SHIRIN’S WEDDING
SHIRINS HOCHZEIT

• Director: Helma Sanders-Brahms
• WEST GERMANY / 1976 / DCP / B&W / 121’ / German, Turkish, Greek; Turkish, English s.t.

• Screenplay: Helma Sanders-Brahms
• Director of Photography: Thomas Mauch
• Editing: Margot Löhlein
• Music: Zülfü Livaneli
• Cast: Ayten Erten, Jürgen Prochnow, Aras Ören, Jannis Kyriakidis, Peter Franke
• Producer: Volker Canaris
• Production Co.: Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)
• World Sales: Deutsche Kinemathek

When Shirin’s Wedding, one of the most resonating films about Turks living in Germany, was first broadcast on West German WDR Television, it sparked debates about immigrants and immigrants’ rights in this country; when the reactions to the film in Turkey heightened, the leading actress Ayten Erten had to lose her track. Shirin’s Wedding delves into urgently relevant concepts, such as the difficulties faced by migrants, the power of love, the importance of family ties, women’s rights and class inequality, culture clash, tradition vs modernity. Forced to marry the village landlord, Şirin escapes to Istanbul and goes to Germany as a labourer. However, losing her job there is the beginning of her downfall. Shot in black-and-white reminiscent of a newsreel, Shirin’s Wedding was screened at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival from a restored copy. Director Helma Sanders-Brahms was the head of the jury of the International Competition of Istanbul Film Festival in 1987. 

This film is screened with the kind contribution of Goethe Institut Istanbul and German Films.

This film was a Meetings on the Bridge participant.