Films by John Gürtler

France, Germany, Turkey 2021, 93 min
by Ahmet Necdet Cupur

In a village in the south east of Turkey, Mahmut wants to divorce his newly-wed wife. At the same time, his sister Zeynep enrols in an open high school and takes on a job in a factory. Against her father’s wishes, she wants to leave the village and ultimately go to university. The siblings’ demands become the center of conflict in their conservative family and community, who are not used to what Mahmut and Zeynep strive for. Intimately captured by their elder brother Ahmet Necdet Cupur, who left the village twenty years ago to pursue his studies, LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES is a story of clashes between generations, between the past and the present.

Germany 2018, 52 min
by Niko Apel

Muslims don't do anything against the progressing radicalisation oftheir faith brothers? - They do.Ron W. from Berlin and Mustapha L. from Frankfurt/Main have taken up thefight for so long: Day for day they face the radicalisation process inschools and mosques.(Internationale Hofer Filmtage)

Germany 2017, 116 min
by Nora Fingscheidt

Argentina, 2016: in an remote desert in the North, 700 Mennonites of German origin lead 18th-century lives without electricity, music, or any of the amenities modern life affords. Their only school textbook is the Bible. Eighteen years ago, these colonists travelled here from Mexico to escape the influences of the modern world. To them, life should not be easy. Instead they strive for a severe and devout life under God and hope that their children will choose to follow the same path. That’s why they do their best to shelter them from ‘The World’, their name for everything outside their own colony. But is it really conceivable to reject modernity altogether? WITHOUT THIS WORLD captures the portrait of a tranquil, contemplative society caught between tradition and change.

Germany 2016, 75 min
by Eva Knopf

Until recently Myanmar was shut off from the rest of the world by a military dictatorship. Ever since a democratisation process started, the country opend up, not only politically but also economically. Investors and multinational companies view Myanmar today as the 'last frontier' of globalization: 53 million new customers may be waiting to avail themselves of their products!But how do the Burmese navigate between the new offers and opportunities and their traditional values? MYANMARKET accompanies people in a time of change: A team of consumer researchers maps Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, according to household income. A motivational trainer effordlessly combines american feasibility opitmism with buddhist doctrines. A mother is overwhelmed by the demands of family and society and is looking for a traditional escape from her everyday life. Her daughter is attracted by the shiny commodities and is looking for her true needs.Original Burmese version with English subtitles or German overvoice available.