German Movie Nights: Love, Deutschmarks and Death

The German Film Office is pleased to present a special in-person screening of Cem Kaya’s award-winning documentary Love, Deutschmarks and Death (2022) at the Goethe-Institut New York, followed by a Q&A with the director.

The Federal Republic of Germany’s 1961 recruitment agreement with Turkey not only brought workers and their families to Germany, but also their music. Cem Kaya’s fascinating documentary film essay is a tutorial in recent Turkish-German history that tells a tale of assembly line jobs, homesickness and family reunification, xenophobia and racism, wistful songs and hip hop, featuring prominently the long-lost bazaar in the elevated train station at Berlin Bülowstraße. Famous musicians most of us have never heard about, from the old-school singers Metin Türköz and Yüksel Özkasap, to the psychedelic band Derdiyoklar and the chart-topping rapper Muhabbet take us along. This is the world of Radio Yilmaz, the music cassette business, protest rocker Cem Karaca’s exile, and wedding bands that also sing in Kurdish and Arabic to meet the demands of the market.

Based on extensive archival research, Cem Kaya’s vibrant film details the vast body of music produced by and for the Turkish diaspora in Germany starting in the 1960s, and its influence on subsequent generations. Love, Deutschmarks and Death presents “an absorbing, rarely heard musical history” (Sheffield DocFest), “a rhythmic and vividly narrated cinematic encyclopedia of Turkish music in Germany” (Berlinale).

Love, Deutschmarks and Death has won multiple awards including the Goethe-Institut’s Documentary Film Award and is nominated for Best Documentary at the upcoming German Film Awards.

Visit www.germanfilmoffice.us for more information.