Shirins Hochzeit
Shirin’s Wedding
Helma Sanders-Brahms
A village in Anatolia, Türkiye. The young Shirin is to be married against her will. She flees to Cologne. She tries to make a life for herself in Germany as one of the »guest workers« recruited by the government, juggling factory work, life in a hostel and dance bars for »guest workers«. Then she meets a man she trusts – unaware of what she is getting herself into.
The film is considered the first to be told from the perspective of a female »guest worker«. Filmmaker Helma Sanders-Brahms and her protagonist even exchange direct dialogue at one point in the film, seemingly to allow the character a chance to express herself. But Shirin replies in broken German, raising the question: who is actually in control here?
Even the main character’s name suggests that the dialogue is not taking place on equal terms: the spelling Shirin is incorrect, it should be Şirin. This discrepancy already betrays a tension that runs through the film: a form of objectification, manifesting as a sense of being controlled by others.
At the time, the film triggered a wave of outrage among Turkish »guest workers« against the German broadcaster WDR. The singer-songwriter Metin Türköz literally spits on Şirin – or rather, the lead actress Ayten Erten – in one of his songs. The film is even debated in the Turkish parliament. Ayten Erten’s film career ended almost as soon as it had begun.
In cooperation with Köln im Film
Helma Sanders-Brahms
Helma Sanders-Brahms (1940–2014) initially studied acting, then trained as a teacher before finally deciding to pursue a career in film. She worked with Pasolini and, from 1969 onwards, produced her own films with an often autobiographical slant. She wrote almost all her own screenplays and oversaw production herself. She won international acclaim with works such as Unter dem Pflaster ist der Strand and Deutschland, bleiche Mutter. Her work has received numerous awards; she was an Officier des Arts et des Lettres and a member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin. In 2003, she was a founding member of the German Film Academy. She died in 2014 aged 73 following a long illness.
Films by Helma Sanders-Brahms
So wie ein Wunder – Das singende Kino des Herrn Heymann 2012 | Geliebte Clara 2008 | Mein Herz – Niemandem! 1997 | Jetzt leben – Juden in Berlin 1995 | Manöver 1989 | Laputa 1986 | Alte Liebe 1985 | Flügel und Fesseln 1984 | Die Berührte 1981 | Deutschland, bleiche Mutter 1980 | Heinrich 1977 | Shirins Hochzeit 1976 | Unter dem Pflaster ist der Strand 1974 | Gewalt 1970
