Screening:
Butenland
Salt Beyoğlu
July 5, 2025 18.30
Still from Butenland (2019)
©Marc Pierschel, blackrabbit images
©Marc Pierschel, blackrabbit images
Walk-in Cinema
Butenland (2019)
Director: Marc Pierschel
82 minutes
German; Turkish and English subtitles
Butenland tells the story of a former dairy farmer and an animal rights activist who together create Germany’s first retirement home for cows. After decades of working in the dairy industry, Jan Gerdes decides to abandon the practice when he can no longer justify sending aging cows to slaughter. Alongside Karin Mück—an activist who began rescuing animals from laboratories in the 1980s—they establish Hof Butenland, a sanctuary where animals live in peaceful coexistence, no longer defined by their productivity.
The film introduces cows like Paul, Uschi, and Lillja, each carrying a story of survival in a system that once saw them only for their utility. Through attentive observation, Butenland becomes an intimate portrait of care and resistance. It raises ethical questions about how animals are treated in industrial systems and offers a glimpse into a different kind of human–animal relationship—one based on respect, not exploitation.
The free-admission screening is realized with the support of the Goethe-Institut Istanbul and is open to everyone.
Butenland (2019)
Director: Marc Pierschel
82 minutes
German; Turkish and English subtitles
Butenland tells the story of a former dairy farmer and an animal rights activist who together create Germany’s first retirement home for cows. After decades of working in the dairy industry, Jan Gerdes decides to abandon the practice when he can no longer justify sending aging cows to slaughter. Alongside Karin Mück—an activist who began rescuing animals from laboratories in the 1980s—they establish Hof Butenland, a sanctuary where animals live in peaceful coexistence, no longer defined by their productivity.
The film introduces cows like Paul, Uschi, and Lillja, each carrying a story of survival in a system that once saw them only for their utility. Through attentive observation, Butenland becomes an intimate portrait of care and resistance. It raises ethical questions about how animals are treated in industrial systems and offers a glimpse into a different kind of human–animal relationship—one based on respect, not exploitation.
The free-admission screening is realized with the support of the Goethe-Institut Istanbul and is open to everyone.
