Thomas Arslan’s work frequently starts with him traversing spaces and capturing the essence of what he finds. The filmmaker rose to prominence with his Berlin trilogy Geschwister – Kardeşler (Brothers and Sisters, 1997), Dealer (1999), and Der schöne Tag (A Fine Day, 2001), which explores the lives of young German Turkish individuals in Berlin. His other films include Mach die Musik leiser (Turn Down the Music, 1994), Ferien (Vacation, 2007), Aus der Ferne(From Far Away, 2006), and Gold (2013). Many of his narratives explore moments of upheaval and transformation since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This theme is particularly prominent in his films Am Rand (At the Edge, 1991) and Am Rand Revisited (At the Edge Revisited, 2024). The latter, which premiered in 2024 as part of Arslan’s exhibition at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.), revisits the sites of the 1991 film to document ongoing urban transformations. By juxtaposing both films, Am Randand Am Rand Revisited, as well as presenting nine photo diptychs, Arslan combines different visual layers to explore the potential of visual media to make history visible.

Arslan’s (*1962 in Braunschweig, lives in Berlin) films have been featured several times at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). In 2017, his road movie Helle Nächte (Bright Nights) won the Silver Bear for “Best Actor,” awarded to Georg Friedrich. His film Verbrannte Erde (Scorched Earth, 2024), a sequel to the thriller Im Schatten (In the Shadows, 2010), premiered at the Berlinale in 2024. Arslan’s films were showcased in the extensive retrospective The Berlin School: Films from the Berlin School at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (2013). Arslan has served as a professor of narrative film at the Berlin University of the Arts since 2007.