Çakallarla Dans director on why he makes big decisions in Berlin, not Istanbul

Murat Şeker says he has taken every important decision of the last 23 years in Berlin. The reason? Pavements you can actually walk on.

The director and producer of the Turkish comedy series Çakallarla Dans ("Dancing with Jackals") has brought his crew to Germany for the eighth film. It opens in Germany and across Europe on 12 November.

What happened?

The new film, Çakallarla Dans 8: Şututgart Çıkarması, moves the series from Istanbul's streets to Stuttgart and Berlin. In Turkey it opened on 6 November and reportedly topped the box office in its first weekend. It is the second film in the series without the character Servet, the accountant.

For Şeker, Germany is more than a set. He first came to Berlin in 2003 to film the documentary Almanya Rüyası ("German Dream") and the Turkish Day parade. He calls it love at first sight.

Why Berlin and not Istanbul?

Şeker praises Berlin's greenery, wide pavements and open spaces. They remind him of the Istanbul of the 1980s, he says. He also likes that you can get anywhere in 30 minutes.

Istanbul, in his words, is crowded and has lost part of its identity. He describes motorbike couriers on pavements, constant shoulder-to-shoulder jostling and traffic on the Bosphorus Bridge at 1 a.m. He also claims that over 60 percent of the city's buildings are unlicensed. His verdict: "We are very close to the end of Istanbul." Still, he says, he was born there and feels sad about it, while Berlin feels like a fresh start.

What does he think about Turks in Germany?

Şeker says third- and fourth-generation Turks are far better integrated than their grandparents, the Gastarbeiter ("guest workers" recruited from the 1960s). Many of his friends are doctors, lawyers and dentists, he says, so guest workers no longer represent the community alone.

He also thinks Turkey misjudges its diaspora. They did not choose to be stuck between two cultures, he argues. He quotes a German minister of the time: "We expected workers, but people came."

What's next?

The film now reaches German and European cinemas on 12 November. Şeker's own Berlin story, meanwhile, is still going strong.