Moving Images Against The Current The Aesthetics and Geopolitics of (Im)mobility in Contemporary Europe by Nilgun Bayraktar A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Performance Studies and the Designated Emphasis in Film Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Shannon Jackson, Chair Professor Miryam Sas Professor Deniz Göktürk Fall 2011 Moving Images Against The Current The Aesthetics and Geopolitics of (Im)mobility in Contemporary Europe © 2011 by Nilgun Bayraktar Abstract Moving Images Against The Current The Aesthetics and Geopolitics of (Im)mobility in Contemporary Europe by Nilgun Bayraktar Doctor of Philosophy in Performance Studies and the Designated Emphasis in Film Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Shannon Jackson, Chair This dissertation investigates the historical and contemporary tensions around mobility and identity in Europe since WWII, with particular emphasis on their contemporary configurations. Drawing on recent theories of migrant and diasporic cinema, moving image art, and mobility studies, I provide close and historically situated readings of films, videos, and installations within a larger historical and geographical scope of European migration that encompasses the Middle East and Africa. The films and videos I study establish a non-Western countergeography of Europe that has produced multiple “others” in its constant efforts to recompose its borders and identity. They address psychological and sociological processes of integration and cultural syncretism as well as discrimination and racism against minorities and migrants. Although the geopolitical focus of my dissertation is Europe, the works I analyze challenge territorially bounded conceptions of identity and culture. They extend representation to socially disenfranchised groups such as undocumented migrants by narrating multiple, and often times perilous, forms of travel and border-crossing from migrants’ perspective. With attention not only to the shifting political and geographic borders of Europe but also to the shifting institutional and aesthetic borders of cinema, these works likewise invoke a powerful cinematic- countergeography that investigates the changing terrains of cinema and contemporary art. The first chapter, on The Edge of Heaven (2007) by Fatih Akın and Countess Sophia Hatun (1997) by Ayşe Polat, focuses on second-generation Turkish German labor migrants and analyzes the cinematic production of heterogeneous diasporic spaces and subjects that transcend binaries of host-home or migrant-citizen. My second chapter, on Hidden (2005) by Michael Haneke and Exiles (2004) by Tony Gatlif, discusses the second-generation North African migrants in France and the violent history of French colonization of Algeria in relation to contemporary (postcolonial) French society. The third chapter, on the site-specific video installation Küba (2004) by Kutluğ Ataman, focuses on the counter-stereotypical representation of migration in relation to the multichannel installation format as well as traditional forms of political cinema. The fourth and fifth chapters, on the video essay Sudeuropa (2005-7) by Raphaël Cuomo and Maria Iorio and the video installation Sahara Chronicle (2006-9) by Ursula Biemann, respectively, examine the relationship between “illegal” migration and the creation of new borderlands in Southern Europe and North, West, and sub-Saharan Africa. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………………..i Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………..ii Dedication………………………………………………………………………………...............iv Introduction: Critical Cinematic and Artistic Takes on Migration, Mobility and the New Border Regime in an “Expanding” Europe……………………………………...v Part One: TRANSNATIONAL MOBILITIES IN CINEMA Chapter I: Cross-border Mobility and Confinement in Turkish German Cinema: Countess Sophia Hatun (1997) and The Edge of Heaven (2007)…………………………1 Chapter II: Performative Encounters and Postcolonial (Im)mobilities in French Maghrebi Cinema: Hidden (2005) and Exiles (2004)……..……….…….........................................45 Part Two: FRAGMENTED JOURNEYS IN MOVING IMAGE ART Chapter III: Location and Mobility in the Site-specific Video Installation Küba (2004)………100 Chapter IV: Heterotopic Intersections of Tourism and Undocumented Migration in Southern Europe: The Video Essay Sudeuropa (2005–7)……………………………...120 Chapter V: The Production of Migrant Illegality: Social Infrastructures of Undocumented Mobility in the Multichannel Video Installation Sahara Chronicle (2006–9)................149 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………180 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Throughout the course of my work on this dissertation it has been my extreme good fortune to benefit from the unflagging support and encouragement of a number of extraordinary people. This project simply would not have been possible without them. My greatest debt is to the chair of my dissertation committee, Shannon Jackson, for her guidance, enthusiasm, and profound generosity—I could not wish for a more caring advisor. I am also indebted to my committee members Miryam Sas and Deniz Göktürk for sharing their time and expertise. I am grateful to Miryam for her constructive criticism, excellent mentoring, and sense of humor; and to Deniz for inspiring my interest in film and migration and for innumerable insightful comments and suggestions that have guided me from the formulation of the topic to the completion of this project. During my time at UC Berkeley I have benefited from the generosity of a number of grant and fellowship programs. The research and writing of this dissertation was made possible by the Dean’s Normative Time Fellowship, the European Union Center of Excellence Dissertation Fellowship, and a Dissertation Research Grant from the Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies. I am indebted to Ayşe Polat, Ursula Biemann, Raphaël Cuomo and Maria Iorio for sharing their work with me. I owe particular thanks to Brandi Catanese, who has provided me with emotional and intellectual support on many occasions during my studies at UC Berkeley and counseled me on advancing my academic career. I cannot thank her enough for lighting up my days on campus with her wit and sweetness. Mary Ajideh, Meghan LaBelle, and Robin Davidson have also offered invaluable assistance during my graduate student years. I am grateful to them and to the I-House community, particularly Martin Brennan and Josiane Siegfried, for their unparalleled support. Farther afield, I am indebted to my dear friend Demet Altan, who welcomed me to her home with open arms and made my research trips to Berlin intellectually stimulating and emotionally engaging. Layla El-Kassem likewise helped me find my way around and enriched my experiences in Berlin. Another Berlin friend, Çetin İpekkaya, a leading figure in Turkish theater, shared with me his amazing stories of making theater both in Turkey and Europe. I extend sincere thanks to him as well as to Ahmet Gürata, who introduced me to the world of film studies during my undergraduate studies in Sabanci University and offered insightful feedback on an early version of the first chapter. Barbara Mennel’s comments likewise improved my third chapter, and Marco Purpura provided feedback on my fourth chapter. I am indebted to these readers and also to Amanda Glesmann, whose editing helped polish the manuscript in its final stages. I have also benefited greatly from my brilliant students at UC Berkeley (from 2007 to 2011). Their challenging questions, insightful comments, and engaging essays enriched my own work and expanded my horizons, and I thank them for it. I also extend thanks to Joe Goode, whose creative artistic work and mentorship have inspired my own scholarly and artistic goals. The most unflagging supporters of this project have been the members of my Berkeley family: Şener Aktürk, Ismail Onur Filiz, Zeynep Gürsel, Zohar Weiman-Kelman, and Brenno Kenji Kaneyasu. Throughout my graduate studies they have offered stimulating conversations and emotional support that have made my intellectual endeavors possible. I am also indebted to my fellow graduate students at the Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies, ii whose friendship and creativity have been integral to my own intellectual and creative formation, and whose support I couldn’t have done without: Chia-Yi Seetoo, Kate Kokontis, Joy Palacios, Khai Thu Nguyen, Kristina Hagström-Ståhl, Kelly Rafferty, Michelle Baron, Charlotte McIvor, and Kate Duffly. I thank them, and I will always appreciate the encouragement and good will we shared. Perhaps my greatest good fortune has been my wonderful friends Emine Fişek, Ayşe Ercümen, and Melike Acar, who have made my experiences in Berkeley much more peaceful, enriching, and fun. I have no idea how I could have done this without them. I am deeply grateful to my wonderful family, my mom, my sister Sevil, and my brothers Zeki, Şahin, and Doğan. They have supported me on every path I have chosen and in every decision I have made. I couldn’t have pursued academic studies without their care and love. I also thank my extended family in Turkey, especially Ajda Bayraktar, Sinan Yıldız, and Fatma and Ahmet Başaran, for their generosity and support during my transcontinental journeys. I have also been sustained by the memory of my dear father; our last conversation was about my acceptance to UC Berkeley. He