How is belonging negotiated in literature and film? Which stories are told - and which remain invisible? These questions were the focus of the panel discussion "Postmigrant Narrative", which took place at the DeZIM Institute on 6 November 2025.
Together with the author Fatma Aydemir and the director Bahar Bektaş, Dr. Rosa Burç discussed narratives of visibility and exclusion as well as areas of tension within intermigrant relationships.
Panel discussion "Postmigrant narration: Exclusion, Visibility and Narrative Negotiation in Literature, Film and Academia."
The event was organized as part of the research project "Intermigrant Racisms and Solidarities in Postmigrant Society", which is part of the National Discrimination and Racism Monitor (NaDiRa). The project examines racist simultaneities and solidarity strategies in post-migrant society using the example of minoritized communities with a Turkish background.
Program
- 18:00 - Welcome by Dr. Noa K. HaScientific Director of the DeZIM Institute
- 18:05 - Introduction to the research project "Intermigrant racisms and solidarities in the post-migrant society", Dr. Rosa Burç
- 18:15 - Panel discussion incl. reading from "Dschinns" by Fatma Aydemir, screening of the documentary "Exile Never Ends" by Bahar Bektaş and Q&A
- 19:30 - Reception and informal conclusion
Prelude and introduction
After a welcome by Dr. Noa K. Ha, who officially opened the evening, Dr. Rosa Burç introduced the thematic and research-related background of the event. Her project examines how racist experiences and solidary alliances intersect in post-migrant society and what role narratives can play in this.
Narratives also have an epistemological value in science. How do people narrate their own biographies, what is left out and what is emphasized, how do they position themselves geographically, in terms of memory politics and affectively against the background of transnational racisms and solidarities?
Storytelling as a practice
Fatma Aydemir described storytelling as a form of resistance and sensitization. She writes about people from her immediate environment.
Bahar Bektaş added that she translates observations from her socio-educational work into artistic forms in order to fill empty spaces.
"Walking through the world hypersensitively is exhausting, but necessary to make complex realities of life visible."
"I wanted to make the unspeakable sayable - not as an accusation, but as an invitation to look."
Post-migrant self-positioning
When asked whether they see themselves as post-migrant storytellers, Aydemir replied that she had no problem with the term, but did not necessarily identify with it. The term enables visibility, but can also reinforce attributions.
Reading and artistic approaches
In a reading from her novel "Dschinns", Aydemir reflected on the intertwining of experiences of racism, gender and migration. According to Aydemir, these themes are "organically interwoven". This complexity reflects the reality of multi-perspective living environments.
Bektaş then presented her film "Exile Never Ends", which is based on her family's story of flight. She spoke about silence, gaps and the unspoken - in particular about the massacre in Dersim and the experience of exile. According to Bektaş, exile means a "constant inner flight in which home is never clearly located".
Transformation and belonging
In a discussion about the effects of her work, Aydemir emphasized that transformation is not a goal, but a possible consequence of honest storytelling. Nevertheless, her literature could help to raise awareness of intermigrant racism.
Bektaş spoke about the double pressure of expectations between the Kurdish community and German majority society. In particular, this area of tension makes the complexity of post-migrant identity visible.
Voices from the audience
In the discussion that followed, the guests and the audience discussed speaking and silence as possibilities and limits of resistance, production conditions in the cultural sector and the importance of artistic work for young people.
Outlook
The event made it clear that post-migrant storytelling goes far beyond representation. It opens up spaces of remembrance, resistance and self-empowerment, as well as spaces in which polyphony and ambivalence become productive.
By combining research, literature and film, the discussion brought academic and artistic perspectives on diaspora, exile, migration and racism into a valuable dialog.
Gallery
