Brown University-RISD festival to focus on Turkish-German films

A unique film festival focusing on Turkish-German migration will take place Tuesday, March 2, through Sunday, March 7, on and near the campuses of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Culture of Birth, Culture of Migration: Turkish Filmmakers and German Society will offer an insightful glance at the ethos of crossing geographical and cultural boundaries.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A first-of-its-kind film festival in the Rhode Island will offer an insightful glance at Turkish-German migration and will explore the ethos of crossing geographical and cultural boundaries, beginning Tuesday, March 2, 1999, in Providence.

The festival, Culture of Birth, Culture of Migration: Turkish Filmmakers and German Society, is sponsored by Brown University's Department of German Studies in conjunction with the Rhode Island School of Design and Goethe Institute in Boston. Continuing through Sunday, March 7, the festival will feature film screenings, prominent Turkish filmmakers and television producers, and presentations by scholars of history, literature, politics and anthropology at various locations on the East Side.

"The 20th century has been an `Age of Migration,' an era of mass migrations of unprecedented extent," said festival organizer Mine Eren. "While much study of human movement has become a substantial part of research conducted by social scientists, it is often limited to statistical evaluations. Through the use of film and video, the festival hopes to offer a visual and emotional display of migration. "

Turkish immigrants comprise the largest minority in Germany. The festival will address Germany's response to this phenomenon and issues of multiculturalism, national and personal identity, gender and culture.

"The screenings, presentations and panel discussion also will bring attention to the newest wave of German filmmaking and spotlight the increasing number of films by Turkish producers," said Eren.

All events are open to the public, and most of them are free. For additional information, contact the German Studies Department at (401) 863-2596.

Tuesday, March 2

8 p.m., Carmichael Auditorium, Brown University
Screening: Journey Of Hope
The film is the story of a Kurdish family in eastern Turkey whose life becomes radically changed by a dream to emigrate to Switzerland.

Wednesday, March 3

5 p.m., Sayles Hall, Room 105, Brown University
Lecture by Professor Azade Seyhan, Bryn Mawr College: "Literary Creoles: New Turkish-German and Chicana/o Writing"

8 p.m., RISD Auditorium
Screening: Speechless
Four young men are traveling to Switzerland by train. Language differences keep them from speaking to each other, but during the journey they make surprising discoveries about each other.

Screening: The Photographer Of Istanbul: Ara Güler
For more than five decades, Ara Güler has watched Istanbul through the lens of his camera. This German documentary gives an accurate look at one of the most important photographers in the world.

Thursday, March 4

4 p.m., Alumnae Hall, Crystal Room, Brown University
Lecture by Onur Öymen, Turkish Ambassador to NATO, former ambassador to Germany: "Turkey in Europe: Political and Economic Dimensions"

8 p.m., RISD Auditorium
Screening and panel discussion: Istanbul Beneath My Wings
A fantastic drama set in 17th-century Istanbul. Four companions are devoted to achieving human flight even against the wishes of the sultan.

Friday, March 5

Noon: Watson Institute, 2 Stimson St., Brown University
Lecture by Onur Öymen, Turkish ambassador to NATO, former ambassador to Germany: "The Turkish Community in Germany: Problems and Prospects"

5 p.m., Wilson Hall, Room 101, Brown University
Lecture by Mahmut T. Öngören, president of the International Film Festival-Ankara: "Turkish Cinema and Its Portrayal of Migration"

8 p.m., RISD Auditorium
Screening: Steam: The Turkish Bath
An Italian discovers he's inherited a hamam, a traditional Turkish steam bath, and leaves for Istanbul in order to sell it. During his stay, however, he comes to realize the value of the bath and understands why it was passed on to him.

Saturday, March 6

11 a.m., Cable Car Cinema, 204 South Main St.
Screening: The Bandit
After 35 years, Baran the Bandit is released from prison. He travels to Istanbul to look for the woman he loves. There he finds an alien world and comes realize that today's criminals are much more corrupt.

3 p.m., RISD Auditorium
Screening: A Portrayal of Nazim Hikmet
The film follows the travels of Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963) from Istanbul to Moscow and then to Paris. The documentary finds Hikmet's friends and uncovers archived KGB files.

4 p.m., RISD Auditorium
Screening and Panel Discussion: The Way
A documentary film that traces the life of Eva Siao, a German-Jewish woman, who emigrates to China and becomes a close friend to poet Nazim Hikmet.

8 p.m., RISD Auditorium
Screening: The Village
Why do people leave their villages? What moves them to return? By filming his own family and the village where he grew up, Nuri Bilge Ceylan addresses these issues in an unusual and insightful way.

Sunday, March 7

10:30 a.m., Cable Car Cinema, 204 South Main St.
Screening: Agir Roman Cholera Street
Based on the best-selling novel of the same title, this love story is set in a rundown and ethnically diverse area of Istanbul.

1:30 p.m., RISD Auditorium
Lecture by Thomas Balkenhol, Middle East Technical University Ankara: "Contemporary Turkish Filmmakers in Germany"

2:30 p.m., RISD Auditorium
Screening: I'm My Mother's Daughter
This documentary is the first on migration made in Germany by a Turkish female filmmaker. It centers on the director's mother, who came to Germany from a small village on the Black Sea.

4:15 p.m., RISD Auditorium
Screening: Dead Reverie
A Turkish immigrant worker has died and the preparations of his funeral are described in a letter written by the laborer's wife.

4:30 p.m., RISD Auditorium
Screening and Panel Discussion: Farewell Stranger
A film about two strangers who meet on the North Sea island of Langeness (North Germany). An attractive woman in her 40s and a older man seeking political asylum become lovers even though they speak no common language.

7:30 p.m., Sharpe Refectory, Chancellor's Dining Room, Brown University
Closing / Turkish Buffet / Dance Performance

Tickets are $12 for the general public and $8 for students and must be purchased by Thursday, March 4. Contact Serife Hathaway at (401) 737-2364 or Katja Ahlskog at (401) 351-0641