FF Muenster

The Filmfestival Münster 2011 awards the Turkish director Seren Yüce for his film „Çogunluk“ (Majority) with the jury award for best director in the European Feature Film Competition, endowed with Euro 7,500.
The raw and authentic „family film“ and desperate „love story“, written and directed by Fatih Akin’s former assistant director premiered at the film festival in Venice in 2010 and was honored there with the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for the best debut feature film.
The international jury of the Filmfestival Münster, the Dutch actor Egbert-Jan Weeber („Bollywood Hero“), German director Sven Taddicken („Emma’s Bliss“), the film journalist Oliver Baumgarten and the producer Markus Halberschmidt („Armin“, Croatia’s Oscar-entry in 2006), decided unanimously to give out the award to Seren Yüce.

For the fourth time the European Feature Film Competition at the Filmfestival Münster is based upon a special topic. Eight films had been nominated for best direction on this year’s topic of „What keeps life together“. And the things that keep life together can vary in so many ways. In an era of crises, catastrophes and rapid changes to structures and society, the question of what keeps life together becomes increasingly more important. Is it your family, friendships and relationships in general, is it a sense of belonging, your personal view on the world, a sense of security or attitudes? Esteem, trust, professional achievement and acknowledgement – are they enough?
What gives life meaning seems to depend on how people find what sustains them emotionally, individually and within the community, how they experience trust, what desires they can make come true, what challenges they take on, whether they can leave a mark.