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Der schöne Tag

A Fine Day
Forum Special Fiktionsbescheinigung 2022
© Pickpocket Filmproduktion
A balcony door. It is open – the only source of light in a darkened room. The sound of birds. A young woman stands there, motionless. Is she watching the sleeping man?
The young woman, Deniz, is an actress. The film will accompany her for a whole day, with natural light and sound recorded on location. We see how she sorts laundry, auditions for a leading role and meets other people. She often takes the U-Bahn. Her movements on foot and by public transport lend the film structure and determine its rhythm. The feel for Berlin’s topography is impressive.
Der schöne Tag completes Thomas Arslan’s Berlin trilogy, following Kardeşler (1997) and Dealer (1999). It is about people of Turkish origin, all of them second-generation, although questions of identity are not even broached – they remain underneath the surface. In one scene, we see Deniz working as a voice artist, dubbing Éric Rohmer’s Conte d’été into German: like the character in the film whose lines she delivers, Deniz finds herself in state of uncertainty too.
by Thomas Arslan (Written and Directed by)
with Serpil Turhan, Bilge Bingül, Florian Stetter, Selda Kaya, Hafize Üner, Hanns Zischler, Elke Schmitter, Benedict Weber Germany 2001 German, Turkish 74' Colour

With

  • Serpil Turhan
  • Bilge Bingül
  • Florian Stetter
  • Selda Kaya
  • Hafize Üner
  • Hanns Zischler
  • Elke Schmitter
  • Benedict Weber

Crew

Written and Directed by Thomas Arslan
Cinematography Michael Wiesweg
Editing Bettina Blickwede
Music Saul Williams, Selda Kaya & shape:mod, Morton Feldman
Sound Andreas Mücke-Niesytka
Art Director Ulrika Anderson
Costumes Annette Guther
Producers Thomas Arslan, Martin Hagermann
Commissioning Editor Lucas Schmidt
Co-Production ZDF/Das kleine Fernsehspiel Mainz, Deutschland

Produced by

Pickpocket Filmproduktion

Berlin, Germany

zero film

Berlin, Germany

Photos

Lucas A. Vignale

© Valentine Torre

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1997, he began his career as an editor and then turned to directing with a focus on the music industry. He directed Tripolar 360°, a documentary about the band Usted Señalemelo. In collaboration with Gaspar Prim Díaz, he wrote and directed a short and a medium-length film for Gaspi’s YouTube channel which together have exceeded 17 million views. He wrote and directed his first short film, La Pasión, with Lorenzo Ferro. El Tren Fluvial is their debut feature film.

Filmography (Filmography)

2023 La Pasión (The Passion); short film; co-directed by Lorenzo Ferro 2026 El Tren Fluvial (The Fluvial Train)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026