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Shirins Hochzeit

Shirin’s Wedding
Retrospective 2024
© Deutsche Kinemathek / Sanders
Farmer’s daughter Shirin is facing an arranged marriage with the administrator who put her father in a Turkish prison. To escape, she flees to Germany, where she hopes to find Mahmud, the man she regards as her fiancé. In Cologne, Shirin gets work in a factory and finds a place to stay in a home. When she and the other “guest workers” are fired, her residency visa becomes invalid. Out of necessity, she works as a prostitute in the housing for Turkish men, under the thumb of a German pimp. It does not go well for long… Shot in black-and-white reminiscent of a newsreel, the film provides a documentary perspective on the migrant workers in Germany, while the “naive” point-of-view of the protagonist on a country that is foreign to her could trigger empathy for a population that had previously not been much explored in cinema. The story’s melodramatic turn awakens strong emotional reactions. Turkish nationalists were highly critical of the film and it basically spelled the end of lead Ayten Erten’s acting career. It reached a television audience of millions before also being released theatrically.
by Helma Sanders-Brahms
with Ayten Erten, Jürgen Prochnow, Aras Ören, Jannis Kyriakidis, Peter Franke, Hans Peter Hallwachs, Ortrud Beginnen Federal Republic of Germany 1976 German, Turkish, Greek 121’ Black/White DCP: Deutsche Kinemathek Rating R 16

With

  • Ayten Erten
  • Jürgen Prochnow
  • Aras Ören
  • Jannis Kyriakidis
  • Peter Franke
  • Hans Peter Hallwachs
  • Ortrud Beginnen

Crew

Director Helma Sanders-Brahms
Screenplay Helma Sanders-Brahms
Cinematography Thomas Mauch
Editing Margot Löhlein
Music Ömer-Zülfü Livaneli
Sound Richard Kettelhake
Production Design Manfred Lütz

Additional information

DCP: Deutsche Kinemathek