Retelling History and Place

Frau Kutzer und andere Bewohner der Naunynstraße (Frau Kutzer and other residents of Naunyn Street)
Friedrich W. Zimmermann and Aras Ören, Federal Republic of Germany 1973, 51 min. German and Turkish with English subtitles

Kazım Akkaya und die Bewohner der Naunynstraße (Kazım Akkaya and the residents of Naunyn Street)
Friedrich W. Zimmermann and Aras Ören, Federal Republic of Germany 1975, 58 min. German and Turkish with English subtitles

Based on an epic poem by Aras Ören, these films introduce an ensemble of characters living in the West Berlin neighborhood of Kreuzberg, then located in close proximity to the Berlin Wall. From German widow Frau Kutzer to Turkish construction worker Kazım Akkaya, the two films move across nationalities and genders, and between histories, memories and dreams. Combining poetry with dramatic action and documentary, the films offer a suggestive form and language that is still relevant.

 

 

Friedrich Wilhelm Zimmermann is a German journalist, author and director. He has worked as a freelance journalist since 1968 at Sender Freies Berlin and as an editor at Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne. He lives in Berlin. As a director, Zimmermann created a mixed form of literary adaptation, documentary and drama that was unusual at the time.

Esra Akkaya is a literary theorist. She is currently writing her doctoral thesis at the FU Berlin as an associate of the Selma Stern Centre for Jewish Studies and is a board member of bi’bak e.V.