Warning: May contain spoilers.
Included in the film roster of German Film Week 2016 were two independent films released last year entitled Hördur: Between the Worlds, and Meteor Street, with the latter bagging the Berlinale 2016 Award. These two films, directed by Ekrim Ergün and Aline Fischer respectively, curiously have four things in common:
1. The films’ protagonists were both teenagers.
Hördur: Between the Worlds featured a sixteen year old girl named Aylin whose mother just died. In Meteor Street, the protagonist was an eighteen year old lad called Mohammed or Ahmed, whose parents were deported back to Lebanon from Berlin.
2. They were burdened by familial duties
Both of the protagonists were burdened by familial duties, specifically, relationship with siblings. Aylin, has a young brother, Emre, that she brings to kindergarten and picks up after school. Since her mother died and her father works early morning until evening, she was tasked to care for her brother. On the other hand, Ahmed, was burdened by his 27 year old brother who turned out to be good-for-nothing. He has no plans, no direction, and no work.
3. They were disliked by society
Aylin was a Muslim from Turkey whose family fled to Germany during the Turkish diaspora, but was bullied in school by her classmates and was referred to as a “psycho.” Ahmed, also a Muslim, was disliked by his white, German co-workers.
4.They are in search of their self-identities
What was strikingly similar in both films was that the main theme was about the search for their self-identities. Aylin found out that her passion was in riding (a horse) and wanted to pursue it except her father objected to it. Ahmed, on the other hand, was trying to find out what it is to become a man in a society that disliked him and with a brother who was a constant pain in his neck.
Official trailer of Hördur: Between the Worlds
A clip from the film Meteor Street
READ: German Film Week at Ayala Malls Cinemas’ Glorietta and Trinoma on Sept 22 – 27
Hördur: Between the Worlds and Meteor Street were shown at Ayala Malls Cinemas: Glorietta 4 and Trinoma from September 22 to September 27 during the first run of German Film Week 2016. Check out www.sureseats.com and you can also visit Goethe Institut’s official website and their Facebook page for more details.
