LOCATION: auditorium at the Knott Science Center
Notre Dame of Maryland University

The Edge of Heaven (Fatih Akin, 2007, 122 minutes) 
introduction and commentary by Christopher Llewellyn Reed, chair, Department of Film & Video, Stevenson University

German-born, ethnically Turkish director Fatih Akin (b.1973) is the perfect representative of the Germany of today, fully assimilated, yet proud of his background. In films like ‘Im Juli’ (2000) and ‘Head-On’ (2004), Akin examines issues of what it means to be Turkish, or German-Turkish, in the land of his birth. In ‘The Edge of Heaven’, which won the “Prix du scénario” (screenwriting award) at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, Akin continues this thematic exploration, following Turkish characters living in Germany who question their identity, who travel back and forth between their two countries in an effort at self-discovery. A combination of police procedural – a stolen gun figures prominently – and family drama, ‘The Edge of Heaven’ is a gorgeously photographed meditation on cultural blending and reconciliation. 

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