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| December 2007 Newsletter | |||
Events for December - Members are
welcome to attend ! |
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Weihnachtsmarkt at Messina Palace: For the first time, the German-Maltese Circle will be setting up a stall to sell genuine Häberlein-Metzger Nürnberger Lebkuchen, Niederegger Marzipan, Weihnachtsstollen and Glühwein – all at suitable price ranges. The stall will be in the Entrance Hall as from Nikolaus Abend, 5th December till stocks last! Opening hours: 11.00a.m. till 15.00 hours and 17.00 hours till 19.00 hours German Film Evening “The Kebab Connection” (2005) Direction Anno Saul on Friday, 7th December at 6.30p.m. – see below for full details German Language Certificate Giving Ceremony on Wednesday, 12th December – see below for more details Literaturkreis conducted by Dr Günter Jacobs on Friday, 14th December at 6.30p.m.
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Visit of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, H.E. Prof. Dr. Horst Köhler and by Mrs Eva-Luise Köhler to Messina Palace on the 16th November 2007. View our picture gallery online
A CD with about
250 photos is also available at the Circle’s office. Persons
wishing to view this CD and download copies are invited to contact
us during normal office hours |
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| The Kebab Connection - Friday, 7th December at 6.30p.m. |
Direction:
Anno Saul
Cast: Emmanuel
Bettencourt, Numan Acar, Nora Tschirner, Hasan Ali Mete, Kita Ramadan,
Denis Moschitto.
Production:
2005
Kebab Connection is a bright, funny, conventional ethnic romantic comedy co-written by Fatih Akin and four collaborators, including director Anno Saul. Centering on the life of aspiring filmmaker and German-born Turk, Ibrahim, “Ibo”, (Denis Moschitto), Kebab Connection weaves observations about immigrant life in Germany, youth culture, and globalization into a familiar narrative about love and responsibility and the differences between generations and cultures. Little in the film is likely to surprise, but its good nature, winning cast, and fundamentally positive outlook on the ability of people to be decent to each other makes it enjoyable and satisfying to watch.
Kebab Connection begins with a voice over, in German, of two men attempting to order doner, a Turkish meat and flatbread sandwich. The film cuts from black to an overhead shot of the sandwich and a woman’s voice informing the two men that there is only one doner left. The camera pulls back to reveal the counter on which the sandwich rests, and two men squaring off, clearly with the intent to fight over it. The audience learns that this little drama is actually an ad for Ibo’s Onkel Ahmet’s (Hasan Ali Mete) restaurant, “King of Kebab”.
Ibo’s German girlfriend, Patricia, “Titzi” (Nora Tschirner) begins the main narrative by announcing that she’s pregnant. This news gives rise to both drama and comedy. Ibo is tossed out of the family home for getting a German girl pregnant. Titzi holds Ibo at arm’s length, worried that he is not up for this responsibility. Much of the comedy comes from Ibo’s superficial attempts at proving his worth: pushing a stroller in public, changing a diaper, attending a Lamaze class.
Ibo’s family, and particularly his father, Mehmet (Güven Kiraç) end up “adopting” Titzi, even as they continue to keep their distance from Ibo. Titzi’s doubts about Ibo are clearly more related to Ibo as an individual, and his particular readiness for fatherhood, than his Turkish-ness, which is not terribly pronounced.
While eschewing deterministic views of identity, Kebab Connection does represent its younger generation as being generally unconcerned with the boundaries of ethnicity. An argument can be made that the film soft pedals anti-immigrant sentiment in Germany, particularly that directed against Turks. However, Kebab Connection is at heart a romance, and the openness of the younger generation and the fundamental decency of their elders are necessary to make the eventual, and inevitable, reconciliations credible.
The
Kebab Connection has German dialogue with English subtitles.
Students of German and other members are welcome to attend. Entrance is
free. An introduction to the film and a discussion after the film are
led by Sirka Facklam.
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Certificate Giving Ceremony - Wednesday, 12th December at 7.15p.m. |
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Students
attending our courses and teachers are welcome to attend. |
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Carmel Ellul |
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Carmel Ellul has always been a civil servant in Government service, beginning with the Water Works Department. His responsibilities included the construction of three Reverse Osmosis Plants and subsequently the civil engineering works for the development of the infrastructure to supply the water on the island. He was appointed a member of the Development Control Commission at MEPA (Malta Environment and Planning Authority) for three and a half years. From April 2002 to 2005 he served as Chairman of the Development Control Commission. His radius of action concerned areas within the development boundaries, “Whereby” so he says “Sliema to Swieqi were very tough areas!” I simply had to ask for an explanation for this statement. Carmel explained: “Due to the high value of properties and much pressure from the developers on the one side, and concerns of the neighbouring residents on the other, mutual and plausible agreements were not always easy to come by.” When the limited time span to serve as Chairman with MEPA came to an end, he moved back to Water Services Corporation. Today, his main concern is the upkeep of operation plants and buildings. “I am also the architect for the local parish church, including restoration management, and development of property for pastoral needs,” he points out, and carries on: “The restoration of the dome of the Santa Maria parish church together with the bell-steeple have been completed.” Interesting here: This neo-classicistic bell-steeple, which had been designed by William Baker in the early 19th century bears a very close resemblance to the spire at Lincoln College at Oxford. Furthermore, a new pastoral centre for Gudja is on the drawing board. After having attended St. Joseph’s School at Paola and St. Aloysius College at Birkirkara, Carmel Ellul studied Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Malta, graduating in 1982. His thesis “Development of the Village Street Pattern of Malta in the nineteen hundred” are again an example of his special interest in village communication and streetscapes. In this exposé he also concerns himself with the way the village centres were shattered in order to make way for the advancing use of motor cars. I might add at this point, that Carmel Ellul is also the advisory architect for Messina Palace, when it comes to certain problematic maintenance works on this four centuries old building. Having unfolded his professional achievements, I was curious to know, where exactly the interest in the German language came in. This had a very trivial start: Carmel was visiting Munich for the first time in 1991, and at dinner time he ordered from a menu in German, what he thought was a soup – which however turned out to be Brötchen (bread rolls). And the decision to learn the language up to conversation level was made promptly! On return home, he started immediately with German lessons at the German-Maltese Circle and has been a faithful member ever since. This language knowledge helps him also considerably with his trekking hobby in the Alps. Regularly in August as well as in February he spends his “walking time” in the German, Swiss or Austrian mountains, where any conversation usually takes place in German. Another hobby of his is visiting every year a European city with typical Christmas Markets, offering Glühwein (mulled wine), heiße Würstchen (hot dogs) and Lebkuchen (spicy Christmas cookies) and listening to musical performances in their great churches. There is one hobby he likes to pursue at home: the collection of Malta’s first day issues in philately as well as first minted coins. The latter he began with the introduction of the Euro, now eagerly awaiting the new Maltese edition. Carmel Ellul strikes me as a lucky connoisseur as regards his profession as well as his past-times. He chooses and follows whatever he likes most: “I am doing my best not to be a workaholic – in the sense that tomorrow would also be a day… , BUT the missed joys of any particular day would be lost forever”. – A very healthy approach to a happy life style! |
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Gudja
is one of the older villages of Malta, featuring amongst others the
venerable chapel of Bir Miftuħ first mentioned in 1436. It is in
these peaceful surroundings that Carmel Ellul was born, brought up
and still resides. His profession combines architecture and civil
engineering, structural engineering and project management. He runs
a small office for private persons seeking advice on the building
sector; however, more often than not this turns out to be rather
more of counselling on management of the finances needed to build
and service their house.