Thomas Arslan (born 16 July 1962) is a German film director and screenwriter. He is one of the directors of the Berlin School. He is best known for three films about young Turkish Germans in Berlin, and for the western Gold (2013). he has been a professor of narrative film at the Berlin University of the Arts since 2007. Early life and education Arslan was born in Braunschweig to a German-Turkish family. He grew up in Essen, but lived in Ankara for four years as a child. He finished school in Essen in 1982. From 1986 to 1992 he studied at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). Career Arslan's first film, Mach die Musik leiser (1994), was about teenagers in Essen. It was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival.
He then made three films about young people of Turkish descent in Berlin: Geschwister – Kardeşler (1996), Dealer (1999) and Der schöne Tag (2001). They are called his Berlin trilogy. The films use long, calm shots and feel close to documentary.Dealer won two prizes at the 1999 Berlinale.
In 2006 he made Aus der Ferne, a documentary about a trip through Turkey. He followed it with the family drama Ferien (2007). He later moved into genre films. Im Schatten (2010) is a crime film. Gold (2013) is a western starring Nina Hoss, about German emigrants on their way to the Klondike. It competed for the Golden Bear.
Bright Nights (2017) follows a father and son on a trip through Norway. Its star, Georg Friedrich, won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlinale.
In 2024 Arslan released Scorched Earth, a sequel to Im Schatten.
Filmography Year Title Notes 1994 Mach die Musik leiser Graduation film; Berlinale Panorama 1996 Geschwister – Kardeşler Berlin trilogy, part 1 1999 Dealer Berlin trilogy, part 2; FIPRESCI Prize, Berlinale Forum 2001 Der schöne Tag Berlin trilogy, part 3 2006 Aus der Ferne Documentary 2007 Ferien Berlinale Panorama 2010 In the Shadows 2013 Gold Berlinale Competition 2017 Bright Nights Berlinale Competition; Silver Bear for Best Actor (Georg Friedrich) 2024 Scorched Earth World premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival
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