Karin Hamm-Ehsani, assistant professor of German, wrote an article titled “Intersections: Issues of National, Ethnic and Sexual Identity in Kutlug Ataman's Berlin-Film Lola und Bilidikid” that has been accepted for publication at Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies.
Her article proposes that by interlinking the characters' individual processes of ethnic, social and sexual self-determination in post-wall Germany with the wider issues of history and memory, Ataman's film successfully positions itself within — while also defying — the dominant discourse dealing with questions of “national identity.”
The analysis highlights the way the film continuously projects intersections, or points of “touching,” between Turkish and German histories, manifest in the network of references to conspicuous names and places in Berlin throughout the film.