Tribute to award-winning Turkish movie director
Fatih Akin, the Turkish film director who caused a sensation at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival – winning the Golden Bear award for «Head On» – has been hailed as the filmmaker of multicultural societies. The film will be presented in Athens as part of this year’s screenings of Premiere Nights. To mark the occasion, the Goethe Institute in Athens is organizing a tribute to Akin’s films – the director was born in Hamburg to Turkish parents and lives in Germany. The tribute includes three films and will take place on September 20, 21 and 22 at the Goethe Institute Hall (14-16 Omirou) in collaboration with the Premiere Nights Film Festival and Rosebud film distributors (admission is free). In «Short Sharp Shock» (1998), Akin’s camera followed three friends living in Hamburg: a Greek, a Serb and a Turk. In «In July» (2000), a young, low-key professor falls in love and decides to move to Istanbul. In «Solino» (2002), a Southern Italian family emigrates to Germany in the mid-1960s. There they find the steel factories, but no familiar pasta or pizza. Born in 1973, Akin graduated from the Hamburg School of Fine Arts. His first feature, «Short Sharp Shock,» was an instant success, winning several awards, including the Bronze Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. Besides directing, Akin is also involved in acting and is known for writing his own scrips – with the exception of «Solino.»
