Films und Closing Party of the Exhibition Exploring Berlin

Urban Research
Films from Istanbul and Berlin

Sunday, 21 February 2016
18:00

Alte Feuerwache Projektraum
Marchlewskistr. 6
10243 Berlin
U5 Weberwiese

Urban Research Istanbul Berlin presents short films between experimental and documentary exploring the public sphere in different cities. In collaboration with curator Burak Cevik from Istanbul we show films which deal in very personal ways with current and with historical urban developments and their problems.

The very personal point of view of the different filmmakers makes it possible to create a relation between different places and times, between the disappearance of old quarters, the violence that families have to endure in kurdish areas, the circumstance that led to the self-immolation of a turkish immigrant in Germany, and the juxtaposition of the story  of Jewish family in Italy during WW2 against the backdraft of Italo-Fascist Architecture in Rome.

Without addressing it directly, these problems of urban spacial change, political usurpation, experience of violence and personal experiences of social hardship can also be seen in relation to the current so-called “refugee crises” and the last political changes in Germany and Turkey. On the other hand, the films are also characterized by their ease to deal with personal documents and the charming personal observations.

Programm Link:
http://urban-research.eu/DL2016/framesUR-IstanbulBerlin.html

More Links:
Exploring Berlin – Exhibition at Alte Feuerwache Projektraum
– http://richfilm.de/currentUpload/1-framesExploringBerlin.html
Städtepartnerschaftsverein Kadıköy e.V.
– http://www.kadikoey-berlin.de/
Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg von Berlin
– http://kulturamt-friedrichshain-kreuzberg.de/einrichtungen.php?DOC_INST=2
Photocentrum am Wassertor / vhs Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
– http://photocentrum.de/

Directors Lounge: http://www.directorslounge.net

Urban Research – Istanbul Films

Thursday, 27 November 2014
21:00
Z-Bar
Bergstraße 2
10115 Berlin-Mitte

Istanbul has drawn a lot of attention in Germany, lately. It has become a city fashionable not only for visits, but also for projects in architecture and art. The history of the past 60 years has been one of success. An incredible growth from around 1 million to estimated over 14 million inhabitants has been handled without the emergence of slums and widespread poverty combined with criminality as many other mega cities in the world have. The economic boom of the last 2 decades, based on a moderate modernization in the past and a growing middle-class, has also created a demand for democratic renewal on one hand. On the other hand, a new class of powerful rich in combination with a globalized monetary-economy try to further accelerate economic growth in the city, which causes a lot of controversies and a rising number of people possibly loosing the battle for urban renewal.
The films in this program show glimpses of different developments in the mesh of urban renewal. All of them combine artistic observations with a large sympathy to the people portrayed and places shown.

artizinconnu TR
The City and The Memory – Have you seen Sulukule? 08:40 2009
Sulukule is a former Romani area in Turkey which has been taken down by the government. Its inhabitants have been removed to Tasoluk, 45 km away.

Bingöl Elmas TR
Hey Neighbor! 44:45 2014 WP
One of the results of the urban transformation in Istanbul is the abrupt conversion of old neighborhoods into luxurious estates. The communities that have no relations with each other happen to find themselves side by side. Ultra-wealth and poverty have became neighbors. The film investigates both sides and the impossibility of relations.

Sirin Bahar Demirel TR
Living with Leviathan 11:00 2013
Through a personal story about the nationwide uprising in Turkey in summer 2013, the “Occupy Gezi” movement, this movie tries to show how the Turkish youth says “No!” by reclaiming the city against an over-reacting government and brutal police force.

Artist’s Links:
artizinconnu
Bingöl Elmas
Sirin Bahar Demirel

Press Links:
Z-Bar – http://www.z-bar.de/
Directors Lounge

More infos:
richfilm