The Murder of Halit Yozgat

21-year-old Halit Yozgat was assassinated in broad daylight, in his immigrant parents’ internet cafe on April 6, 2006 in Kassel, Germany. Five witnesses were present in the 77 square metre space when Halit was shot twice in the head. With his unconventional combination of sound art, electronics, and dark metal, Frost brilliantly and sensitively musicalizes the structural racism and institutional blindness that affects the country’s immigrant communities.

In the middle of the rehearsal process, work on the world premiere of The Murder of Halit Yozgat had to be suspended due to COVID-19. Instead, Ben Frost, with Trevor Tweeten, resumed rehearsal and released a film about the project. The result is a unique cinematic portrait on the borderline between documentation and fiction – a chilling opera film about the reconstruction of a murder case.

There will be a viewing and live chat on January 16 at 1pm ET, followed by an artist conversation at 3pm ET.

Run Time: 120 minutes

Language: German and English with Subtitles

A film by Ben Frost and Trevor Tweeten

The movie is commissioned by Staatsoper Hannover, a production by Ben Frost, Toby Donnelly and Staatsoper Hannover in cooperation with Holland Festival.

The opera The Murder of Halit Yozgat, based on the counter investigation 77sqm_9:26min by Forensic Architecture, is commissioned by Staatsoper Hannover, a production by Staatsoper Hannover in cooperation with Schauspiel Hannover and Holland Festival.