"I'm My Own Country!"

Ertan, Alban, Ali and Kais, from Turkey, Albania, Morocco and Tunisia: Bettina Braun has created a portrait of four young Muslims in Germany. Marion Hetzel spoke to the documentary film director and one of her protagonists

Bettina Braun and Kais (photo: Marion Hetzel)
Bettina Braun and Kais - both live between two worlds

​​For two years, Bettina Braun accompanied these young men with her camera. The result is Was lebst Du? (literally: "What do you live?"): a sensitive, humorous and highly authentic group portrait, in which the viewer can sense the bond of trust that grew between the filmmaker and her protagonists. Profound reflections on life are mixed in with moments of wonderful verbal humour, as the four come to terms with their everyday problems and deeper existential fears. With empathy and respect, Bettina Braun shows what a difficult balancing act life can be: Approaching adulthood, Ertan, Alban, Ali and Kais also have to deal with the differences between the various cultures that go to make up their world.

Ms. Braun, your film succeeds in building a bridge between these young men and the German audience. How did you come up with the topic?

Bettina Braun: Basically, I was interested in three things. To begin with, I myself had spent several years living in England, and had never really felt properly at home there. So these matters had been preoccupying me for some time – home, homesickness, and the problem of living with two cultures.

When I was in England I also noticed that integration had only taken place to a certain extent; there too, for example, one also sees black people or Indians who only spend time with their "own" people. And even at that time, I was curious about how these people actually live.

Then there's the language; I really like the way immigrants speak German, the special flavour of their speech. So that, ultimately, is how I came up with the idea for the film. I already knew the Klingelpütz Youth Centre and two of the social workers employed there, so that's how I got to know the guys.

The film was a low-budget production, and it wasn't pre-financed. You started filming off your own bat, without any financial security. What were the potential sponsors' misgivings?

Braun: For more than a year, I couldn't sell the film. When I started, I kept getting answers like "Muslims and rappers – we've had that already", or "There's no TV audience for these topics right now", or "That's not our target group". And then, finally, ZDF agreed to support the film.

How did audiences react?

Ertan, Alban and Ali rapping in the Klingelpütz Youth Centre.

​​Kais: A lot of people said the film had opened their eyes to a world they hadn't been aware of, and that the differences between German youths and young immigrants really weren't that big after all.

Braun: Reactions were mostly positive. What really pleased me was that after the Berlinale, people came up to me and told me they'd been deeply moved, that they'd laughed and cried. If people still have the film in their heads two days after seeing it, that's usually a good sign.

There are hardly any young Germans to be seen in the film. Don't you have any contact to Germans?

Kais:Of course we have contact to Germans – I mean, we live here! But our close friends are immigrants, and actually Muslims too. Round here, there just aren't that many Germans. And it's mostly immigrants at the youth club anyway.

What do you think is the reason for that?

Kais: There were sometimes some issues with Germans of our age. And by that I don't mean curiosity, asking questions – I mean, contentious issues, in a negative sense.

For example, when you get asked why your sister or female cousin isn't allowed to go to the disco. As a young guy with a Muslim background, you don't like to argue about that kind of thing, because that's just the way it is with us. Which makes it hard for us to develop close friendships beyond the kind of contact you have at school or at work.

Does it make a big difference to you if someone has grown up with the Bible rather than the Koran?

Kais: I think the main difference is that we practise our religion more. A lot of young Germans no longer believe in God. I think it's a pity that Christian values are disappearing here to such an extent.

Where do you notice the differences?

Kais: Well, one can't generalise, and I'm speaking for myself now; but take the issue of respect for old people. We would never smoke in front of our parents; we wouldn't even leave a lighter lying about.

Has anything changed for you since the film?

Kais: No. I wanted to train as an actor before we made the film, and I'm now doing so. I'm at the theatre academy in Aachen, which I think is a very good school; and at present, I spend nearly all my time with Germans.

Braun: Maybe something has changed for you: The experience of making the film with me has shown you that perseverance can pay.

Kais: If you look at it that way: yes.

What else was important to you when making the film?

Braun: What migration really means to the people involved. Here in Germany, if we're going to take in people from other countries, then we also have to make a move in their direction When you come to a country where you can't speak the language and don't know the customs, it's clear that you're going to start off spending most of your time with your compatriots. So we do have to make an effort to approach people.

Kais, you always refer to yourself as an immigrant. What do you feel to be your nationality?

Kais: In Tunisia, I'm the German; in Germany, I'm the Tunisian. I'm my own country!

Interview: Marion Hetzel

© Qantara.de 2005

Translated from the German by Patrick Lanagan

Qantara

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www
Bettina Braun's website (in German)