Love, Deutschmarks and Death

Cem Kaya's 2022 documentary covers sixty years of the music made by Turkish migrants in Germany. It opens with the years labour migration began: the songs people working in factories made among themselves, cassette culture and the small studios set up in Cologne. The film treats that music not as entertainment but as migration keeping its own record, with separation, racism, the fear of deportation and family reunification present directly inside the songs. Metin Türköz, Yüksel Özkasap, Derdiyoklar and rappers of a later generation are told together. Kaya uses archive material generously and turns television footage into a way of looking at the Germany of the period. It won the audience award in the Panorama section in Berlin. Who it's for: viewers curious about the history of migration and music documentaries. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a portrait of a single artist; the film covers six decades.