Die Möllner Briefe
Martina Priessner
Hundreds of people across Germany were shaken by the racist arson attack in Mölln, which claimed three lives. The attack forced the country to confront its own racism. Many wrote letters to the survivors, filled with hand-drawn pictures, heartfelt condolences, and messages of solidarity. But these comforting words, which could have helped the grieving families, never reached them. Instead, they were handed over to the mayor at the time, sorted, archived, and ultimately forgotten. It was only by chance, thirty years later, that the survivors learned of the letters' existence and realized how much encouragement and support had once been meant for them.
Ibrahim Arslan, who survived the attack as a child, stands at the centre of Die Möllner Briefe and Director Martina Priessner follows him on his search for truth and remembrance. With Priessner’s precise cinematography and Derya Yıldırım’s hypnotic score, the documentary becomes a powerful plea for a vibrant culture of remembrance, one that, through its visual minimalism, keeps the focus on the victims and survivors.
27 April 2025
19:30 h, Mal Seh'n Kino
More information
| Direction | Martina Priessner |
| Country | Germany |
| Year | 2025 |
| Duration | 96 min |
| Language | German, Turkish with english subtitles |
| Language version | OmeU |
| Production | Gregor Streiber, Friedemann Hottenbacher |
| Camera | Ayşe Alacakaptan, Julia Geiß Ute Freund, Anne Misselwitz |
| Editing | Maja Tennstedt |
| Sound | Bilge Bingül, Ludwig Fiedler |
| Music | Derya Yıldırım |
| Sound Design | Robert F. Kellner |
Panorama Audience Award and Amnesty Filmaward at the 75th Berlinale
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About the director
Martina Priessner was born in 1969 and studied social and cultural sciences at Humboldt University in Berlin. She lives and works in Berlin as an independent filmmaker and writer. Her documentary „Die Wächterin“ premiered at the DOK Leipzig Festival in 2020 and won the Goethe-Institut Documentary Film Prize. Her latest documentary, Die Möllner Briefe, premiered at the 2025 Berlinale, where it won both the Amnesty Film Prize and the Panorama Audience Award.
Press reviews
„On one hand, Priessner’s film is beautiful because it is moving to see how many people expressed their compassion at the time and in what words. On the other hand, it is deeply uncomfortable for white Germany. Because when you ask what prevented those responsible from doing what even a child would understand passing the letters on to the bereaved, the answer is clear: racism.“ (Matthias Dell, Zeit Online)
Martina Priessner about the film
„When we first met, İbrahim immediately told me about the letters of solidarity. His disbelief and shock at the withheld solidarity were written all over his face. What he shared with me left a lasting impact. How could such an important expression of support never reach those it was intended for? And what does this say about how victims are treated? I couldn’t shake İbrahim's words from my mind: "When we tell our stories, we lose our trauma symptoms. Because our greatest longing is to tell our stories." A few days later, I called him and proposed making a film together. The many unheard, unseen, and untold stories from the perspective of the victims and survivors form the emotional core of this film. To ensure these stories are heard, we also need the power and magic of cinema, in which I have unwavering faith. At a time when democracy in Germany is under threat like it hasn't been in 80 years, the film seeks to ask crucial questions, give space to the personal losses of the victims, and make solidarity visible. Ultimately, it aims to broaden perspectives and contribute to a new form of remembrance.”
IN ATTENDANCE OF THE DIRECTOR
Future German Cinema
