The Moelln Letters

Germany, November 1992. In a racist attack, three of İbrahim Arslan’s family members perish in a fire. Thirty years later, İbrahim discovers hundreds of letters of solidarity, forgotten in the city archive. We accompany the family as they navigate their profound trauma.

In November 1992, a racist arson attack shattered the lives of İbrahim Arslan and his family in Mölln, western Germany. İbrahim, aged just seven at the time, survived the fire but tragically lost his sister, cousin and grandmother.

In the aftermath of the so-called Mölln attacks, the city received thousands of letters of solidarity, which remained in the city archives and were forgotten for nearly three decades. Woven into İbrahim's poignant journey of discovery and his encounters with three letter writers, these rediscovered letters form a visual and emotional bridge between past and present. The film follows İbrahim and his siblings and offers a sensitive portrayal of the enduring trauma that still affects their lives today.

Honoring Traumatic Histories through Cultural Memory

For İbrahim, coping means fighting racism and advocating a remembrance culture that focuses on the perspectives of the victims, while his brother Namik is only beginning to process the trauma of their shared experiences.

This film not only prioritises the perspectives of the victims and survivors but also reveals a powerful sense of solidarity – solidarity the victims and survivors never knew existed. This film is a plea for a new form of remembrance, one that takes the voices of survivors seriously and finally gives them the space and recognition they deserve.

The film won both the Panorama Audience Award and the Amnesty International Film Award at the 2025 Berlinale.

Aftertalk

After the screening, Maggi Leung and Jana Finke will engage in conversation with director Martina Priessner and Ibrahim Arslan, the central person in the film.

Registration

Entrance is free, registration is mandatory.