On April 26, the 2001-2002 Bonwit-Heine Lecture series presents “Duvarlar -Mauern – Walls”, a film screening and discussion with Can Candan (2000; USA/TURKEY; 83 min.; Turkish, German, English with subtitles).

“Duvarlar-Mauern-Walls”, is a trilingual (Turkish, German, English) documentary about a moment in the recent history of the largest minority in re-unified, post-Wall Berlin, the immigrant community from Turkey, as witnessed by a Turkish filmmaker from the United States. In the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of the two Germanys, 1991 was the year when anti-foreigner violence in Germany was becoming too visible to ignore. 1991 was also the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the migration from Turkey to Germany.

In this film, immigrants from Turkey talk about their past, present, and possible future, reflecting on what the opening of the Wall and the unification of the two Germanys meant for them and how increasing hostilities are affecting their sense of belonging in the new Germany. Duvarlar-Mauern-Walls, is the view from the periphery by a filmmaker who is simultaneously an insider and an outsider. For more information contact Can Candan.