Screenings

Filmdiscussion with director Martina Priessner

Synopsis

In November 1992, a racist arson attack in Mölln shattered the lives of İbrahim Arslan and his family. At just seven years old, İbrahim survived, but he lost his sister, his cousin and his grandmother. In the aftermath of the attacks, the city received hundreds of letters of solidarity which were ignored for nearly three decades. Woven into İbrahim’s poignant journey of discovery and his encounters with three letter writers, these rediscovered letters form a visual and emotional bridge between past and present. The film follows İbrahim and his siblings, painting a complex portrait of the lasting trauma that continues to affect them to this day. While İbrahim has found a way to cope by fighting against racism and advocating for a remembrance culture centred on the victims’ perspectives, his brother Namik is still at the beginning of his journey to come to terms with the traumatic experiences.

The film not only amplifies the perspectives of the victims and survivors but also uncovers the vibrant solidarity that once existed – a solidarity of which the victims and survivors were previously unaware. It offers a new perspective on remembrance – one that takes the voices of survivors and their experiences seriously and provides them with the space and recognition that they deserve.

#Solidarity #Racism #Cultureofremembrance

Director

Martina Priessner

Biography

Martina Priessner is a writer and director based in Berlin and Istanbul who has worked on German-Turkish migration issues for many years. In 2010, she directed the documentary WIR SITZEN IM SÜDEN, which was nominated for the Grimme Award. In 2013, she created the found-footage film EVERYDAY I’M ÇAPULING about the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul. From September 2014 to August 2015, she made the film 650 WORDS about migration and language as an IPC-Mercator Fellow at the Istanbul Policy Centre. In 2020, her documentary film DIE WÄCHTERIN, a portrait of a Syrian Orthodox nun in south-east Turkey, premiered at DOK Leipzig 2020, where it won the Goethe Institute’s Documentary Film Award. Priessner has also received fellowships from the Nipkow Programme, DEFA, and the Tarabya Cultural Academy.

Filmography

Die Rasur (2005), Wir sitzen im Süden (2010), Everyday I’m çapuling (2013, NIHRFF 2023), 650 Wörter (2015), Die Wächterin (2020, NIHRFF 2021), Die Möllner Briefe (2025)

Links /Contacts