Sailing to Byzantium

February 28 - March 20, 2022

Pera Film presents Sailing to Byzantium, an online film program parallel to the exhibitions, From Istanbul to Byzantium and “What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!” at Pera Museum.

In Sailing to Byzantium, there are 4 films from different countries about the effects of the Byzantine past, which is a common heritage, continuing with its effects on art and architecture over the years, from the times of the Byzantine Empire.

In the program that will take place between 28 February - 20 March; The Human Torches of Justinian, a 1907 film by Georges Méliès, one of the pioneers of cinema, focusing on a banquet organized by Emperor Justinian; The Agony of Byzantium, which is a historical production with its extraordinary narration, set in the last period of the Byzantine Empire; Andrey Tarkovsky's film Andrey Rublev, in which he sets the atmosphere like a painting rather than telling a story in the traditional sense, and tells about the life of 15th century icon painter Andrey Rublev; and adapted from a story by Milorad Pavić, the movie Byzantine Blue turns into a love story, starting with the search for the everlasting blue paint from Byzantine church murals.

The program will be streamed at film.peramuzesi.org.tr between February 28 and March 20, and only be accessible to online audiences in Turkey. As per legal regulations, all our screenings are restricted to persons over 18 years of age, unless stated otherwise.

Justinian's Human Torches

Justinian's Human Torches

The Agony of the Byzantine

The Agony of the Byzantine

Andrei Rublev

Andrei Rublev

Byzantine Blue

Byzantine Blue

Program Trailer

Sailing to Byzantium

Pera Film presents Sailing to Byzantium, an online film program parallel to the exhibitions, From Istanbul to Byzantium and “What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!” at Pera Museum.

“What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”

Istanbul Research Institute’s exhibition at the Pera Museum called “What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”: Byzantium in Popular Culture, curated by Emir Alışık, navigates through the eclectic presence of Byzantium in popular culture. 

“What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!”

Louis Isadore Kahn (1901-1974)

Louis Isadore Kahn (1901-1974)

Louis Isadore Kahn was born in 1901 to a Jewish family in Pärnu, Russia (today Estonia), far from Philadelphia where he spent his whole life, worked, fell in love, and breathed his last. Kahn family emigrated to America when he was five years old. 

Modernity Building the Modern / Reshaping the Modern

Modernity Building the Modern / Reshaping the Modern

A firm believer in the idea that a collection needs to be upheld at least by four generations and comparing this continuity to a relay race, Nahit Kabakcı began creating the Huma Kabakcı Collection from the 1980s onwards. Today, the collection can be considered one of the most important and outstanding examples among the rare, consciously created, and long-lasting ones of its kind in Turkey.

The Golden Horn

The Golden Horn

When regarding the paintings of Istanbul by western painters, Golden Horn has a distinctive place and value. This body of water that separates the Topkapı Palace and the Historical Peninsula, in which monumental edifices are located, from Galata, where westerners and foreign embassies dwell, is as though an interpenetrating boundary.