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Aesthetic Strategies in Contemporary Migration Cinema

Pinar Yildiz

Kommentar

For over 60 years, films have been produced on migration from Turkey to Germany. However, recent films engage with migration in ways that have their own approach compared to earlier narratives. The continuation of migration from Turkey to Germany, particularly after the rise of authoritarianism in Turkey following the Gezi Park protests in 2013 and the attempted coup in 2016, has introduced new narratives, aesthetic forms, and encounters, shaping a distinct emotional habitus within both the migration narrative and the cinematic landscape. Recent films not only engage with the traumatic histories of Germany and Turkey to examine present injustices but also develop new aesthetic strategies to counter dominant narratives and authoritarianism. For instance, in Asît (2022), Pinar Ögrenci explores transnational memory through an innovative approach, while Gizem Aksu’s 9/8 Fight 41 (2022) constructs a transnational solidarity through dance, embodying memory from a queer perspective through a narrative spanning from Berlin to Istanbul. Cem Kaya’s Love, Deutschmarks and Death (2022) reinterprets archives in creative ways to challenge the dominant historical narrative about migration from Turkey to Germany, while Özlem Sariyildiz’s Welcome to Germany (2018) employs a self-reflective video practice to intertwine the experiences and emotions of individuals subjected to repressive policies in Turkey and their struggles against them. Through an analysis of contemporary films with new aesthetic forms, from documentaries to self-reflective video works, the course will explore cinema’s potential as a tool for resisting dominant narratives and authoritarianism. In addition to discussing recent examples, we will also examine how contemporary migrant films engage with earlier cinematic traditions, such as Militant Cinema, Third Cinema, and also with contemporary Feminist Cinema, situating them within a broader cinematic context. The course will also be enriched by the participation of directors whose work exemplifies these themes, offering a deeper understanding of the intersections between cinema, resistance, and migration. Schließen