Kasseler Dokumentarfilm- und Videofest

In 1990/91, Can Candan interviewed members of Berlin's Turkish community about their experiences with German reunification. His film DUVARLAR/WALLS testified to the fact that the newfound German unity explicitly excluded those perceived as "foreigners." The "Germans," it seemed, wanted to have the country all to themselves, the country in which generations of immigrants had invested so much blood, sweat and tears. Inspired by Candan's film, the video project WALLS 2.0 set out to ask similar questions to some of the same protagonists twenty years later. The findings are sobering: precious little has changed. Three generations later, people still get asked where they're really from. The “majority society” sees coexistence with immigrants as a “challenge” instead of taking it for granted as a natural fact of life. And racism and racially-motivated violence are still a part of everyday life for people of color in Germany. The vocabulary has changed: the public has discovered the term “integration,” typically directed at the imaginary incorrigible other. WALLS 2.0  is a much-needed dialog about nationalism and identity in Germany, to be continued after the film in a moderated panel.