Embodying Migrated Space and Documentary Filmmaking: Arriving in Germany

Özgür Çiçek’s, in this article, explores how Kurdish migration is portrayed in documentary films, focusing on gendered and embodied relationships to space. Drawing from her own migration experience and research on Kurdish cinema, Çiçek examines both state-funded documentaries, such as Gülseven Güven’s Nomads of the Earth (1979), and independent works like Yüksel Yavuz’s My Father, the Guest Worker (1997). These films critically examine the political and social impacts of migration, while also reflecting on the experiences of those who remain in the home country. Using Doreen Massey’s relational approach to space, the article highlights how gender shapes the experience of migration, as seen in Serpil Turhan’s Köy (2021), which portrays the lives of Kurdish women living in Berlin. Çiçek argues that these documentaries offer new perspectives on how both migrants and those who remain in the home country navigate physical and emotional spaces, influencing their feeling of arrival and sense of connection. The article contributes to broader discussions on migration, gender, and spatial dynamics in film.