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A Life in four hours:
Istanbul, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles.
TURKISH NARRATIVES
Kölnischer Kunstverein, Project Migration *

Narrator: Jale Arikan.
Listener: Ayse Polat

Saturday, November 26th, 8:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Jale Arikan and Ayse Polat

Jale Arikan was born in Istanbul in 1969. She came to Germany when she was six years old, attended the Schauspielschule in Berlin and worked for ARD as their first Turkish announcer when she was 17. This was followed by numerous television and film appearances. In 1996 she went to New York, in order to "get outside the roles of German or foreigner for a while". From 1997 to 2003 she lived in Los Angeles - an ecstatic period between worlds: experiences of landscapes & spirituality and the plastic artificiality of the industry. Selected films: Der Schattenboxer, Lars Becker (1991), appearance in Samson and Delilah, Nicolas Roeg with Dennis Hopper and Liz Hurley (1996), Landgang für Ringo, Lars Becker (1997), Ein Engel schlägt zurück, Angelina Maccarone (1998), Schimanski muss leiden (2000), Hinter der Tür, Neco Celic (2004), porno!melo!drama!, Heekssok Sohn (2005) and several films in Turkey including The Hunter, Erden Kiral, (1987).

Ayse Polat was born in 1970 in Malatya/Turkey, she is of Kurdish heritage. In1978 she followed her family to Hamburg. Studies in German, Philosophy and Cultural Studies. Has been filming since she was 15, describes herself as a cinematic author and never attended a film school. She has filmed several prize-winning short films on Super 8 and video, parables of freedom that thematize the life of immigrants in Germany including "Fremdennacht" (1992), which concerns the suicide of the Turkish asylum seeker Kemal Altun. Her feature film debut, the road movie "Auslandstournee", tells of the odyssey of a Turkish drag artist and a little girl through Europe and into Turkey. "En Garde" was awarded with the Silver Leopard in Locarno in 2004.

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* Projekt Migration is an initiative project of the Federal Culture Foundation.
www.projektmigration.de