"Fear has devoured many souls in my homeland" German film director Fatih Akin,of Turkish origin, has arrived in Yerevan for the Golden Apricot 7th International Film Festival. His film "Soul Kitchen" has been premiered here. The film, a biting comedy, tells the story of restaurant owner Zinos and how the beautiful Nadine leaves him because the man places more attention to his work. This leads to a series of mishaps for Zinos. His business suffers and Zinos must find ways to regain customers.

The director warns theatre goers to watch his others films if they want serious drama. "Soul Kitchen" is a journey into the world of the absurd. Fatih Akin said that his other films center on the tribulations of living in Germany as a Turk but that the creative process is restricted when one solely thinks in terms of national belonging, of identity. Sharing his impressions from Yerevan, the director described the Armenian capital city as "hospitable, modest, somewhat magic and mysterious." "On these days I’ll try to spend less time in cinemas and avail myself of the opportunity to get to know Yerevan better," Fatih Akin told reporters today. According to the director, fear is the cause of the conflict between Armenians and Turks. "It’s the fear to face the truth. Fear devours soul, and fear has devoured many souls in my country. Overcoming this fear is the only way towards normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations. I’m confident that the cinema has the power to overcome that fear, and I’m sure it will happen one day," he said. Akin says that he has no desire to make a film on Armenian-Turkish relations but that, if he ever decides to cover the topic, it might be through the world of boxing. Fatih Akin, who is a boxing fan, supports Armenian boxers Syuzi Ketikyan and Arthur Abraham. According to him, the bout between Arthur Abraham and Turkish boxer Mahir Oral could become a good script for one of his future films. "Soul Kitchen" will be shown again on Thursday, July 15, at 7pm at the Nayiri Theater in Yerevan.