Hüseyin Yilmaz came to Germany from Turkey in 1964, and later brought his wife and children. With warmth and a sense of humour, his granddaughter recounts their family history – whilst the clan is “back home” on holiday. Where their real home is, is a question they are all confronted with.

Hüseyin Yilmaz came to Germany in 1964 as an Anatolian guest worker. Shortly before he is about to be naturalized, he realizes he is not sure he wants to become a German citizen. Unexpectedly, he reveals to his wife, children and grandchildren that he has bought a house in his old hometown and that he expects them to go there and help him renovate it. Reactions are mixed. Hüseyin reassures everyone that he only wants to use it as a holiday home; that he does not want to return there permanently. Canan is afraid to travel; she is pregnant and neither her parents nor her grandparents know. Episodes from the past are meshed with those from the present. Canan tells us how her grandfather eloped with his wife, how he left for Germany to be able to support his wife and children; how he later fetched his family, and what problems he was confronted with upon his arrival in Germany; how the family took their first holiday in Anatolia together and the first signs of alienation. Canan reminisces about the past while the extended family travels to Anatolia again. Hüseyin falls asleep during the bus ride there, never waking up again. The shock of his death leads to long overdue talks between members of the family. Canan admits that she is expecting a child – a fact her grandfather had known all along. The estranged brothers Muhamed and Veli quarrel and reconcile. Hüseyin is buried in his native soil. The family returns to Germany – only one of them, to everyone’s surprise, has decided to stay in Anatolia. Moving into the present, little Cenk gives a speech at Palais Schaumburg in front of the German Chancellor to which his grandfather was actually invited.

ALMANYA – WELCOME TO GERMANY is an extraordinary contribution to the current German debate on integration, played out by two young women who were able to weave their personal experiences into the story. Depicting identities that evolve slowly, the film reflects on the difficult question of what we call “home” – a question for which there are many different answers. “Are we Turkish or are we German,” asks little Cenk, unsettled by his classmates’ reactions – and confused, because there is no space for Anatolia on the large map of Europe in his classroom.

Yasemin and Nesrin Samdereli use small tricks to conceptually realize their ingenious work. The episodes in Turkey are narrated by Canan in the form of flashbacks – in her own words, from the present perspective. It is therefore logical that the characters speak German in Anatolia – but only in Canan’s subjective narrations. Equally ingenious and reminiscent of Chaplin’s THE GREAT DICTATOR is the German sounding, panic-ridden, fantasy language imagined by the Turkish migrants – which is heard, but not understood. Exceedingly rich in emotions and motifs, what differentiates this film from other comparable works that deal with the same topic is its tone: the director and her co-author have created a gentle, ironic, sanguine, warm-hearted film. And they have done this with great affection for their characters – sometimes sentimental, humorous in details, often ironic, but without cynical moments and without glossing over the problems and conflicts that exist.

Production Country

Germany (DE)

Production Period

2009/2010

Production Year

2010

color

color

Aspect Ratio

1:2,35

Duration

Feature-Length Film (61+ Min.)

Type

Feature Film

Genre

Comedy

Topic

Relationship / Family, Work, Home, Migration / Flight / Exile

Scope of Rights

Nichtexklusive nichtkommerzielle öffentliche Aufführung (nonexclusive, noncommercial public screening),Keine TV-Rechte (no TV rights)

Licence Period

18.04.2025

Permanently Restricted Areas

Germany (DE), Austria (AT), Switzerland (CH), Liechtenstein (LI), Alto Adige, Luxembourg (LU)

Available Media

35mm, DVD

Original Version

German (de), Turkish (tr)

35mm

Subtitles

English (en), French (fr), Spanish (es)

Note on the Format

eine 35m Kopie ohne UT liegt vor

DVD

Subtitles

German (partly), German (full), English (en), French (fr), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Turkish (tr)

• Almanya - Willkommen in Deutschland
• Yasemin Şamdereli