Story of Turkish immigrants to hit cinemas worldwide

MADRID - Anatolia News Agency

Demet Gül, the leading actress in ‘Welcome to Germany,’ poses with the film poster during its premiere in Madrid. The film has been sold to 20 countries.

Turkish-German director Yasemin Şamdereli’s film, “Welcome to Germany,” was released March 24 in Spain. The film, which depicts the identity problems of the first Turkish immigrant families in Germany using a tragicomic language, has been also sold to 20 countries, including Taiwan.

Şamdereli, who was in Madrid for the film screening, said she had written the film’s script with her sister and had also used cross sections from her grandfather’s life. “The film is a way of thanking the first Turks who migrated to Germany.”

Şamdereli said it took almost 10 years to make the film because of changes in the script and a lack of funding. “We knocked on all doors, but we were told that while it was an original and nice film, it would not work. Neither Turks nor Germans liked it.”

She said they eventually finished the film despite all the problems and succeeded in drawing 1.5 million theater-goers in Germany.

“We did not want to be involved in a big problem like immigration. Also, there are many films on immigration. So we decided to make a comedy film focusing on funny anecdotes from my grandfather,” said the 38-year-old director.

The leading actress in the film, Demet Gül, said it was her first film. “When I first read the script, I really loved it and wanted the role. I am proud of this film.”

She said she was born in Germany and grew up under difficult conditions after the death of her father.
When asked if the new generation of Turks in Germany still had identity problems, Gül said:

“Of course, there are still difficulties. If you want to rent an apartment, they prefer Germans. For example, I was born and grew up in Stuttgart but still do not have a German passport. In the Turkish consulate, they asked me why I wanted a German passport. But a German passport is not something that will change my culture. It only makes thing easier for traveling.”