GOETHE FILMS: Stronger Than Blood
Presented by the Goethe-Institut
Over the last two decades, a thriller sub-genre has carved out a popular and critically acclaimed niche in German cinema: gangster films by (arthouse and mainstream) filmmakers —Arslan, Yildirim, Akin and others— with star actors —Ünel, Bleibtreu, Löw— often of immigrant or métissage descent. Some films tell hard-hitting street crime stories, some are tender explorations of inner-city life and love. All introduce us to fresh, complex (and predominantly male) characters that appeal well beyond their own worlds as they navigate conscience, honour and responsibility for their actions.
CHIKO (Germany 2008, 92 min) written and directed by Özgur Yildirim, produced by Fatih Akin (HEAD-ON; IN THE FADE), starring Denis Moschitto (IN THE FADE), Moritz Bleibtreu (RUN LOLA RUN), Hans Löw (IN MY ROOM), Fahri Yardim
Stopping at nothing and intimidating those who get in his way, Chiko earns the attention of local drug lord Brownie. The money begins to flow and it looks as though Chiko and his friends are getting closer to the lifestyle they desire. But when one of the friends makes a mistake, Chiko is forced to decide between his criminal career & the money on the one side, and friendship & loyalty on the other.
Awards & Festivals:
2 German Film Awards & 2 further nominations
2 Awards at the Nuremberg Film Festival "Turkey-Germany"
“The straightforwardness with which the young filmmaker tells his gangster ballad and the authenticity of his characters are impressive.” – Der Spiegel
“Yıldırım's debut film sparkles with intelligence.” – Frankfurter Rundschau
Özgür Yildirim was born in 1979 in Hamburg, where he studied at the Hamburg Media School. In 2011, he shot BLUTZBRÜDAZ with controversial German “gangster rapper” Sido as the lead, which was a box office hit in Germany. As his friends Akin and Arslan, Yildirim is often mentioned in the context of German-Turkish cinema. He recently directed the award-wining TV series 4 BLOCKS (2017), which caused some debate around the portrayal of Berlin’s Arab mafia families.
Fatih Akin was born in 1973 in Hamburg. His first feature film SHORT SHARP SHOCK premiered in 1998 and won the Bavarian Film Award. With HEAD-ON (2004), Akin gained international fame and the European Film Award as well as the Spanish Film Award Goya. IN THE FADE (2017) has been a milestone in Akin’s career, winning the Golden Globe in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Akin is one of the filmmakers associated with German-Turkish film, since many of his early works feature hybrid, transcultural characters, however he has broken out of that box with his latest productions. He is highly in demand for literary adaptions, having recently made GOODBYE BERLIN and THE GOLDEN GLOVE and currently working on a Stephen King adaption in Hollywood.
All GOETHE FILMS are open to audiences 18+.
Part of the Goethe-Institut's focus on German film.
Related Events:
"STRONGER THAN BLOOD" by Oliver Kienle
"DEALER" by Thomas Arslan
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