I am looking for coming-of-age / rite of passage films made by migrant / diasporic filmmakers in Europe. So far I have watched the following films.

Elephant Heart (Aladag)
Karamuk (Günar)
En Garde (Polat)
Tour Abroad (Polat)
Pressure (Ové)
Anita & Me (Hüsyin)
Weltmeister / World Champion (Solomun)
Bend it like Beckham (Chadha)
Solino (Akin)
L’Esquive (Kechiche)

Can you recommend other coming-of-age films either made by migrant/diasporic/ethnic minority filmmakers or representing adolescents/youth from ethnic minority or diasporic backgrounds?

Hi Daniela,

Thanks for the wonderful conference last Saturday. Just off the top of my head, a film you might want to look at is Josef Fares’ Zozo from 2005 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448267/

It hasn’t been released in the UK, but there is a seller on Ebay based in Finland who stocks a DVD with English subtitles.

Best wishes,

Ingrid

Thanks a lot, Ingrid for this recommendation. Will have a look at ebay or Amazon, if it’s with English subtitles.

Thanks for your kind words about the conference.

Best wishes,

Daniela

Dear Daniela,

a film that you might be interested in is Buket Alakus’ Eine andere Liga.  I believe you can now purchase the DVD on amazon.de…it is an interesting counterpart to Bend it like Beckham.

best wishes,
Christina

Dear Ingrid,

Only now have I found the time to follow up your recommendation of Zozo, the film about the Lebanese boy who goes to Sweden. it sounds very relevant and interesting but it does not appear to be commercially available. Do you know where I could get a copy, ideally with English (or German) subtitles?

Thanks a lot.

Daniela

Dear Christina,

many thanks for your recommendation of Eine andere Liga. I know this film and find it interesting, in particular, since it tries to transpose the Bend it Like Beckham success to a different cultural context. I am not entirely sure whether it was a wise choice to add the breast cancer issue to what is meant to be a girl power and feel good movie. Maybe, the film tackles rather a lot of issues all at once and the Turkish background of Hayat seems to get lost in the process. What do you think?

All the best
Daniela

Dear Daniela,

I quite agree that the film doesn’t altogether successfully combine its rather disparate themes.  But like you I was intrigued by how the film employs a number of motifs from Bend it Like Beckham.  Although ‘girl power’ films, both female protagonists rely on male approval, to some degree, in order to follow their aspirations.  This is played out in the romantic involvements with the male coaches and also in the need for fatherly acceptance of their desire to play soccer.  Admittedly, I am relying on memory with both of these films, having seen them only once and long ago, but it seems that the tensions between male authority and female agency are even stronger in Eine andere Liga, where the mother figure is entirely absent.  Another parallel is the issue of shame both girls feel towards their bodies, in BILB, because of a scar due to a past accident, and in EaL, because of the breast cancer issue.  In both cases, it is again the male coach who ‘helps’ them acquire a new acceptance of their bodies. 

Also like you, I wondered about the significance of the protagonist’s Turkish-German background.  Although some attention is paid to it, it wasn’t clear to me if there was any more meaning one could attach to the role, other than to portray a combination of cultural heritages that is increasingly common in German society.  It doesn’t seem that hybridity or other identity issues are a significant concern in the film.

On another matter, I have been trying—unsuccessfully—to obtain copies of Ayse Polat’s films, preferably with English subtitles.  Would you know where I might get these?

Thanks and best wishes,
Christina

Dear Christina,
thank you for your very interesting comments on Bend it and Eine andere Liga. I had not thought of the issue of being validated through the male coach, but you are absolutely right!

As for the Ayse Polat films: I’ll be in the office again on 2 May and will have some copies made for you (En Garde and Auslandstournee). Can’t remember whether they have sub-titles, but En Garde certainly does.
If you send me your address, I’ll send you the DVDs.

Incidentally, there is a conference in London on Fri/Sat 27 April where Ayse Polat will attend. Her film En Garde will also be screened and she’ll do a Q&A session.

As part of this conference, there will be a screening on Friday 27 April of Ayşe Polat’s ‘En Garde’,  followed by a question and answer session with the director.

For a full conference programme and registration form, please visit the AMGS website at http://www.amgs.org.uk/conferences.html or contact Joanne Leal at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Association for Modern German Studies
in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut, London

Migrant experiences in post-unification Germany / Migrationserfahrungen im vereinten Deutschland

A two-day conference to be held on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 April 2007 at the Goethe-Institut, London, 50 Princess Gate, Exhibition Rd, London, SW7 2PH

All the best
Daniela

Hello,

I’m doing my master research on immigrant films in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a pity that due to the small language coverage, some of these films haven’t been released abroad or studied.

I have to say, although Belgium needs to be considered as an immigration country, our ‘commercial’ films are no mirror of a diverse society.

Anyhow, some films I would really recommend:

“Shouf, Shouf, Habibi” and “kicks” (Moroccan immigrants in Amsterdam)
(the spin-off series of shouf, shouf, habibi can be watched for free on http://www.uitzendinggemist.nl)

“Kassablanka” (Moroccan immigrants in Antwerp)

Jakob Smets
Brussels