Fatih Akin's Cinema and the New Sound of Europe (eBook)

1. The first book to analyze multiple films by and the career of Fatih Akın, one of the most prominent European directors and producers of the new Millennium. Another Press has an edited volume on Akın in the works, demonstrating the growing scholarly interest in his films. Recently published titles on Turkish-German cinema indicate that this is a growing field and books such as this will become foundational.
2. A transnational approach to Fatih Akın's works that explores how the director handles issues of European integration in his films, imagining and representing a diverse Europe. This book is particularly relevant to current events and questions of European migration and the future of the European Union.
3. This book extends IU Press's well-respected list in auteur film and director studies beyond France into Germany and Turkey. The book's focus on sound also makes it a good fit with IU Press's books that explore sound studies in cinema.

At a time when belonging and identity in Europe is complicated by questions of race, ethnicity, religion, and citizenship, Gueneli demonstrates how Akın's aesthetics intersect with politics to reshape notions of Europe, European cinema, and cinematic history.

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In Fatih AkA n's Cinema and the New Sound of Europe, Berna Gueneli explores the transnational works of acclaimed Turkish-German filmmaker and auteur Fatih AkA n. The first minority director in Germany to receive numerous national and international awards, AkA n makes films that are informed by Europe's past, provide cinematic imaginations about its present and future, and engage with public discourses on minorities and migration in Europe through his treatment and representation of a diverse, multiethnic, and multilingual European citizenry. Through detailed analyses of some of AkA n's key works-In July, Head-On, and The Edge of Heaven, among others-Gueneli identifies AkA n's unique stylistic use of multivalent sonic and visual components and multinational characters. She argues that the soundscapes of AkA n's films-including music and multiple languages, dialects, and accents-create an "e;aesthetic of heterogeneity"e; that envisions an expanded and integrated Europe and highlights the political nature of AkA n's decisions regarding casting, settings, and audio. At a time when belonging and identity in Europe is complicated by questions of race, ethnicity, religion, and citizenship, Gueneli demonstrates how AkA n's aesthetics intersect with politics to reshape notions of Europe, European cinema, and cinematic history.