German-Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin's new film "The Other Side of Heaven" (De l'autre cote) won best screenplay at Cannes last year. Acclaimed for its wild zigzag of action between Turkey and Germany, the film- out November 14th in Paris theaters- tells the story of a young German teacher who travels to Turkey to find the daughter of his father's dead mistress and along the journey is challenged to confront issues of culture and identity. Meanwhile the woman he seeks turns out to be a political activist who has fled the Turkish police and is already living in Germany with a woman who has befriended her. When she is arrested and deported to Turkey life becomes even more complicated. The story is ultimately a discovery of what it means to cross boundaries, both between cultures (Turkey/Germany) and generations (father-son, mother-daughter).
Fatih Akin was born in 1973 in Hamburg of Turkish parents who emigrated to Germany in the 60's . His films include "Solino" (2002), "Head-On" ("Gegen Die Wand", 2003), and "Crossing the Bridge - The Sound of Istanbul" (2005). Recently Akin had this to say about his new film:
Q. What was the genesis of this film.
It all started in Belfast. Someone introduced me to Hannah Schygulla. Immediately we wished to work together. I started meeting musicians. I tried to bring together different puzzle pieces... It is more a collection of memories than a film... like a photo album.
Fatih Akin, photo: Kerslin Stelter, Corazon International
Q. The film has many dialogues about home, identity, politics. It also addresses Turkey's ambivalence about joining the European union. What do you think?
I have no position on the European Union. The film is an open discussion. Every positive has a negative. We have problems in Turkey... between the Muslims and the secular and just we Turks can solve this. Before we link to another system, we have to be unique. I myself don't have a quest for identity. I am a child of the world. I am a member of world origin. Because I am the son of Turkish parents, I am responsible for them and the country. In Germany, we have water in bottles; in Turkey we have essential problems. But this is a globalized world... I like to show Turkish characters, to show Turks who are carrying German culture. I represent German culture in Cannes. The bookshop in my film is the neutral no-man's zone between Germany and Turkey: the opening to a new world.
Q. I heard that you sometimes appear as "DJ Superdjango" in clubs. Can you comment on the way you use music, camera and editing?
I try to find the right information for the image. I try to find the right images. The music in my film is also important. I am still doing my DJing in Hamburg. I am a cinema DJ. I can mix Fassbinder with Fellini. Cinema reminds of sampling. Costa Gavas' movie Missing influenced me. I tried to shoot the runaway scene like Polanski would do it. I try to watch a movie a day. I watched a lot of silent movies before this. I really tried to tell the story in the form of a silent movie, without language. This is DJing.
Q. What do you want your film to accomplish?
I hope that someone watching will be transformed If someone has lost a person, I hope the film captures the idea that someone can move on, that death is part of how we move on. In a way, it is a spiritual film: facing death without being pessimistic, without being Bergman. Yes, I have faith. I believe in everything, the ground under our feet and what is above. I believe there is something more than mathematics and chance. I don't believe in mathematical theory but in the soul of the world.
There is also a political thrust. In the 80s, a lot of left wing people came to Germany, but the problem we have in Germany is that young people today are less interested in changing anything. Young people are really not interested in society nor do they feel responsible for their society. My film is to provoke people to feel responsible for other humans.
Q. Do you have another project in the works?
My next film will be on evil. Evil defined as greed, ignorance and economic globalization.
Q. Why do you wear a sun ring?
It is a Mayan ring I got in Mexico; a celebration of the sun. To me, the sun is everything.
