Soul Kitchen

99 min. | Director Fatih Akin | 2009 Germany | German with English subtitles | NTSC

Soul Kitchen is a 2009 German comedy film directed by Fatih Akın, with a screenplay by Akın and Adam Bousdoukos. Bousdoukos based the story on his own experiences as the owner of a Greek tavern named “Taverna,” where Akın was a regular customer. Akın filmed the movie entirely in the Hamburg area.

The film had its world premiere on 10 September, 2009 at the 66th Venice Film Festival. The movie received general release in Germany on 25 December 2009. Akın dedicated the film to his brother Cem, who appears in the film as Milli. The film also carries a tribute in the end credits to Monica Bleibtreu (mother of Moritz Bleibtreu), whose appearance as Nadine’s grandmother in this film was her next-to-last cinema credit.