MY FATHER THE TURK (GERMANY)
PRIX EUROPA IRIS INTERCULTURAL TELEVISION PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR 2006 TV NON-FICTION
Original title: Mein Vater der Türke
Entered by: Südwestrundfunk - SWR (ARD), Germany
Author/director: Marcus Vetter, Ariane Rieker
Camera: Dragomir Radosavljevic
Producer: Gudrun Hanke-El Ghomri
Cahit Cubuk, a poor, handsome Turk, is one of the first immigrant workers to arrive in Germany in the 60's. He falls in love with a young, naive woman from Stuttgart who wants to become a teacher. Despite their cultural and social differences they decide to start a relationship and she becomes pregnant. Six months into her pregnancy she grudgingly allows him to go back to Turkey for what she believes is a short vacation, a vacation with his Turkish wife and two daughters. He never returns. In the spring of 1967 their child Attila Marcus is born. Cahit Cubuk is thrilled. He finally has a son, and tries everything he can to get custody of him but he fails. Thirty-eight years later. The son, Attila Marcus sets out to find his father. He travels to a remote village in Turkey where he not only listens to his father's story, but also meets his two half-sisters, Nazmiye and Nursen.
Jury Laudatio:
A brave and rich film that reveals the story of a Turkish immigrant, a 'Gastarbeiter' in the sixties in Germany. A son finds his father and confronts him with tender curiosity and questioning criticism. Old patriarchal structures are challenged by attitudes of a modern society. The Prix Europa Iris, multicultural television programme of the year 2006, goes to a documentary in which humoristic scenes are mixed with sad emotions
Prix Europa TV Fiction Special Commndation
Banglatown Banquet
Entered by: British Broadcasting Corporation - BBC, United Kingdom
Author: Tanika Gupta Director: Hettie MacDonald Camera: David Marsh
Producers: Sam Hill, Sally Woodward Gentle, Will Trotter, Tessa Finch
Sofia, a Bangladeshi woman in her 50's, angers her husband by taking self improvement classes but is then left facing the prospect of divorce. When her husband Shafiq arrives home from the sub-continent with a new wife in tow, who is not only much younger but very pregnant at that, Sofia decides she won’t stand for it. Aided by her daughter Afshan, Sofia weighs up her options. In the meantime, there is the community-centre day trip to a stately home to look forward.
Jury report:
A warm, funny, positive and intelligent film about a woman who dares to jeopardize her position in the family and the community. She slowly realizes that she can only fulfil the dreams of her life by breaking with old traditions. A drama full of respect for the dignity and independence of women.
Prix Europa Iris TV Non-Fiction Special Commendation
'The Laser Man - A Documentary
Original title: Lasermannen - dokumentären'
Entered by: Sveriges Television - SVT, Sweden
Authors/directors: Malcolm Dixelius, Gellert Tamas
Camera: Leif Einarsson, Micke Malm
Producers: Malcolm Dixelius, Ingemar Persson
Co-produced by Dixit International AB
Stockholm, 1991 – 1992: An unknown assailant armed with a laser gun shot eleven people in ten attacks. The only thing the victims had in common was their dark skin and hair. After ten months, the perpetrator, a man of foreign descent named Johan Ausonius was dramatically arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. The documentary profiles John Ausonius: his childhood and youth and through interviews with friends, schoolmates and teachers. In flashbacks, we see Ausonius´ dysfunctional problems during his childhood and adolescence, which are marked by severe identity problems.
Jury report:
A thoroughly documented and superbly edited film about a series of crimes which shocked Sweden in the beginning of the nineties. A successful attempt to solve a psychological riddle: what triggered the mind of a racist murderer, a strange son of immigrants, who became inspired by an extreme right-wing party and started ten attacks on immigrants?
