Latest news with #Turkish-German
France 24
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
German far-right voters don't deserve empathy, says director Akin
Not that the Turkish-German filmmaker -- who burst onto the scene with "Head-On" before winning a Golden Globe for "In the Fade" -- believes those he sees as their modern German equivalents are worthy of an ounce of empathy. "People are always saying we should try to understand these people who are voting AfD," Akin said, referring to the far-right Alternative for Germany party which has been accused of toying with Nazi rhetoric and nostalgia. "But why should we be understanding of people who don't want to understand us?" Akin asked. "I don't care what JD Vance (the US vice president, who infuriated German leaders by meeting the AfD) says... I will not give them empathy. No freedom for the enemies of freedom," he told AFP. Germany's spy agency classified the AfD as "extremist" earlier this month, allowing it to monitor the country's biggest opposition party. The AfD denounced the move as a "blow against democracy" and the agency suspended the move pending their appeal. But Vance also attacked the original decision. In Akin's new film "Amrum", set on the North Sea island of the same name off northern Germany in the last days of World War II, our hearts go out to a young boy who tries to save his mother -- a Nazi true believer -- as she spirals into depression at Germany's defeat and Hitler's death. Yet "there is no sympathy for the devil... in this graceful and profound drama", wrote Tomris Laffly, critic of the film bible Variety. Akin makes clear the film is a warning about the here and now, with AfD emerging as the most popular party in the German elections earlier this year. "In the 1990s, the Nazis were bald-headed guys with bomber jackets in the east," he told AFP. "Today they're all over the place -- your family, your friends, your neighbours. You're touching them." In the film, the Nazis are in a minority on the island just as they were when Hitler came to power in 1933, but they rule the roost. 'Banality of evil' "Certain forces in Germany are trying to make Nazism as mainstream as possible now, to make it boring and normal," the director warned. Akin sees the same "banality of evil" in the AfD leaders like banker Alice Weidel. "She's boring, uncharismatic, unfriendly, always in a suit," he said. Akin draws out the emotional coldness and cruelty of Nazism in one heartbreaking scene in the film, drawn from the childhood memoir of his friend and mentor, the director Hark Bohm. After the boy goes through hell to please his mother, she pushes him away when he cries in her arms. "It is cry-babies like you that have lost us the war," she tells him. There is the same "frightening coldness" about Weidel and the German far right, Akin argued. It is that "lack of humanity" that haunts Hamburg-born Akin, the child of Turkish immigrants who has gone on to be the most critically acclaimed and successful German director under 70. "I am afraid that if 12 million people vote for the extreme right... does it mean that there are 12 million unfriendly people in Germany too?" he asked. "Amrum", which stars the German-born Hollywood star Diane Kruger, has had glowing reviews in Cannes. Screen called it a "delicate, rather heartbreaking coming-of-age story... which shows the precision that can be achieved on a smaller canvas" with a family-friendly film. Bohm, 86, had wanted to film his own book himself but was too ill and handed the project to Akin, who dedicated the film to him, calling it a "Hark Bohm film by Fatih Akin". © 2025 AFP
eNCA
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- eNCA
Top director Akin slams Turkey's 'mobster' leaders over arrests
Acclaimed film director Fatih Akin said he fears ending up behind bars if he returns to Turkey, with his manager there in jail accused of attempting to overthrow the government. The Turkish-German auteur -- a hero to many in the country for films like "Head-On", "In the Fade" and the Istanbul music documentary "Crossing the Bridge" -- told AFP late Friday that agent Ayse Barim is "totally apolitical and innocent" of the charges, which relate to protests 12 years ago. "If they put her in prison, what the hell is going on?" Akin asked. "So I better not go there. I don't want to take the risk." Barim, 56, who was arrested in January, denied helping to organise the 2013 Gezi protests that shook the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- who was prime minister at the time -- saying she only attended the protests to accompany her clients, some of Turkey's most famous stars. Prosecutors accused her of "pushing" her actors to take part, a claim she denies. A small demonstration to save some trees in a park in central Istanbul spiralled into nationwide anti-government protests that brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets. Hamburg-born Akin, whose new film "Amrun" premiered at the Cannes film festival, said "officially there is no warrant for me". "But to be honest, I don't know," he added, saying anything was possible as Turkey was being run by "mobsters". "They have other values, it's shocking," he said. - Opposition silenced - "Certain politicians are not even afraid to go to war if this helps them to stay in power. And Erdogan is one of them," he added. Turkey has been hit by the biggest wave of protests since Gezi since the arrest in March of Istanbul's opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption charges. The popular mayor is Erdogan's biggest political rival, with the opposition and rights groups saying he was locked up to stop him running against the president in elections in 2028. Nearly 2,000 people, including journalists, have been arrested in the crackdown on dissent since, with Imamoglu's X account blocked. Akin, whose family comes from the Black Sea region like Erdogan's, said part of the "nonsense" case against Barim is that "she had talked 39 times" with jailed liberal philanthropist Osman Kavala, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2022. "Those 39 times were because of my film 'The Cut'(which touched on the Ottoman-era genocide of Armenians) because Kavala financed part of it and she's managing me. So they talked because of me and both are now in prison. I'm the connecting point," he said. Barim was about as far from an activist as you could imagine, he added. "She's an agent, a talent manager -- a neo-liberal capitalist for heaven's sake." The Golden Globe and Golden Bear winner, 51, said he suspected Turkish prosecutors would try to pretend that he was also "part of the gang" plotting to overthrow Erdogan. "A lot of people are proud of me" for showcasing Turkish culture and the diaspora, "but these people don't care about that", Akin added. Turkish authorities regularly target journalists, lawyers, celebrities and elected political representatives, especially since a failed 2016 coup against the government. By Fiachra Gibbons
France 24
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Top director Akin slams Turkey's 'mobster' leaders over arrests
The Turkish-German auteur -- a hero to many in the country for films like "Head-On", "In the Fade" and the Istanbul music documentary "Crossing the Bridge" -- told AFP late Friday that agent Ayse Barim is "totally apolitical and innocent" of the charges, which relate to protests 12 years ago. "If they put her in prison, what the hell is going on?" Akin asked. "So I better not go there. I don't want to take the risk." Barim, 56, who was arrested in January, denied helping to organise the 2013 Gezi protests which shook the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying she only attended the protests to accompany her clients, some of Turkey's most famous stars. Prosecutors accused her of "pushing" her actors to take part, a claim she denies. A small demonstration to save some trees in a park in central Istanbul spiralled into nationwide anti-government protests that brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets. Hamburg-born Akin, whose new film "Amrun" premiered at the Cannes film festival, said "officially there is no warrant for me". "But to be honest, I don't know," he added, saying anything was possible as Turkey was being run by "mobsters". "They have other values, it's shocking," he said. Opposition silenced "Certain politicians are not even afraid to go to war if this helps them to stay in power. And Erdogan is one of them," he added. Turkey has been hit by the biggest wave of protests since Gezi since the arrest in March of Istanbul's opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption charges. The popular mayor is Erdogan's biggest political rival, with the opposition and rights groups saying he was locked up to stop him running against the president in elections next year. Nearly 2,000 people, including journalists, have been arrested in the crackdown on dissent since, with Imamoglu's X account blocked. Akin, whose family comes from the Black Sea region like Erdogan's, said part of the "nonsense" case against Barim is that "she had talked 39 times" with jailed liberal philanthropist Osman Kavala, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2022. "Those 39 times were because of my film 'The Cut'(which touched on the Ottoman-era genocide of Armenians) because Kavala financed part of it and she's managing me. So they talked because of me and both are now in prison. I'm the connecting point," he said. Barim was about as far from an activist as you could imagine, he added. "She's an agent, a talent manager -- a neo-liberal capitalist for heaven's sake." The Golden Globe and Golden Bear winner, 51, said he suspected Turkish prosecutors would try to pretend that he was also "part of the gang" plotting to overthrow Erdogan. "A lot of people are proud of me" for showcasing Turkish culture and the diaspora, "but these people don't care about that", Akin added. Turkish authorities regularly target journalists, lawyers, celebrities and elected political representatives, especially since a failed 2016 coup against the government.
Int'l Business Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Int'l Business Times
Top Director Akin Slams Turkey's 'Mobster' Leaders Over Arrests
Acclaimed film director Fatih Akin said he fears ending up behind bars if he returns to Turkey, with his manager there in jail accused of attempting to overthrow the government. The Turkish-German auteur -- a hero to many in the country for films like "Head-On", "In the Fade" and the Istanbul music documentary "Crossing the Bridge" -- told AFP late Friday that agent Ayse Barim is "totally apolitical and innocent" of the charges, which relate to protests 12 years ago. "If they put her in prison, what the hell is going on?" Akin asked. "So I better not go there. I don't want to take the risk." Barim, 56, who was arrested in January, denied helping to organise the 2013 Gezi protests which shook the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying she only attended the protests to accompany her clients, some of Turkey's most famous stars. Prosecutors accused her of "pushing" her actors to take part, a claim she denies. A small demonstration to save some trees in a park in central Istanbul spiralled into nationwide anti-government protests that brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets. Hamburg-born Akin, whose new film "Amrun" premiered at the Cannes film festival, said "officially there is no warrant for me". "But to be honest, I don't know," he added, saying anything was possible as Turkey was being run by "mobsters". "They have other values, it's shocking," he said. "Certain politicians are not even afraid to go to war if this helps them to stay in power. And Erdogan is one of them," he added. Turkey has been hit by the biggest wave of protests since Gezi since the arrest in March of Istanbul's opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption charges. The popular mayor is Erdogan's biggest political rival, with the opposition and rights groups saying he was locked up to stop him running against the president in elections next year. Nearly 2,000 people, including journalists, have been arrested in the crackdown on dissent since, with Imamoglu's X account blocked. Akin, whose family comes from the Black Sea region like Erdogan's, said part of the "nonsense" case against Barim is that "she had talked 39 times" with jailed liberal philanthropist Osman Kavala, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2022. "Those 39 times were because of my film 'The Cut'(which touched on the Ottoman-era genocide of Armenians) because Kavala financed part of it and she's managing me. So they talked because of me and both are now in prison. I'm the connecting point," he said. Barim was about as far from an activist as you could imagine, he added. "She's an agent, a talent manager -- a neo-liberal capitalist for heaven's sake." The Golden Globe and Golden Bear winner, 51, said he suspected Turkish prosecutors would try to pretend that he was also "part of the gang" plotting to overthrow Erdogan. "A lot of people are proud of me" for showcasing Turkish culture and the diaspora, "but these people don't care about that", Akin added. Turkish authorities regularly target journalists, lawyers, celebrities and elected political representatives, especially since a failed 2016 coup against the government.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Real Madrid Star Ozil Joins Erdogan's Political Ranks
(Bloomberg) -- Mesut Ozil, the former German national team midfielder and World Cup champion, has entered politics by joining the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party. Trump Targets $128 Billion California High-Speed Rail Project Trump Asserts Power Over NYC, Proclaims 'Long Live the King' Trump to Halt NY Congestion Pricing by Terminating Approval Airbnb Billionaire Offers Pre-Fab Homes for LA Fire Victims Sorry, Kids: Disney's New York Headquarters Is for Grown-Ups Ozil, 36, was elected Sunday to the central decision and executive committee of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, during a party congress in Ankara. The former Real Madrid and Arsenal footballer joins a list of celebrities recruited by Erdogan as he seeks to bolster his party's appeal. Former Aston Villa defender Alpay Ozalan also serves as an AKP lawmaker. A German-born son of Turkish immigrants, Ozil was once seen as a symbol of Germany's multicultural success story. But his relationship with the country soured after he posed for a photograph with Erdogan in 2018, triggering a political backlash amid strained Turkish-German relations. Shortly afterward, he retired from international football, complaining of racist treatment from the German federation, fans and the media. Ozil married a former Turkish beauty queen in Istanbul in 2019, with Erdogan being a witness in the ceremony. He built a villa in Istanbul's Uskudar district, where Erdogan also has a home. He continued his playing career with Turkish teams and retired completely from football in 2023. Meet Seven of America's Top Personal Finance Influencers Can Dr. Phil's Streaming Makeover Find an Audience in the MAGA Era? Walmart Wants to Be Something for Everyone in a Divided America How Med Spas Conquered America India's Most Reliable Retirement Plan: Selling Grandma's Jewelry ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
