The Beaten Track

March 15 - 31, 2023

Within the scope of the exhibition Istanbuls Today, which opened at Pera Museum in December, the program includes nine film examples from experimental, documentary and fiction genres. The word “uğrak” (the beaten track), which is thought to originate from the Turkish-Mongolian language family, means to stop by and go. The word uğrak, transformed over the years to mean to make a temporary stop and to go frequently, allows us to show the films that transform Istanbul into a place of a haunt.

Until March 31, the program includes Alain Robbe-Grillet's directorial debut The Immortal, in which the static hotel setting of Marienbad is replaced by a magical, surrealistically static Istanbul; Merlyn Solakhan's The City and Tongue Twister, which have rarely been seen in Turkey and which construct Istanbul sometimes as a set, sometimes as a setting, but mostly as the main character of the story; Zombie and the Ghost Train, a tragicomedy directed by Mika Kaurismäki about Zombie, a young musician trying to find a place for himself in a band and in the world; and Maurice Pialat's Turkish Chronicles, a series of five lyrical short films by Maurice Pialat, who traveled to Turkey in 1964 and dedicated himself to the history and people of the country.

Tickets will be available at Biletix and the museum. As per legal regulations, all our screenings are restricted to persons over 18 years of age, unless stated otherwise.

March 15

19:00 Tongue Twister

March 17

19:00 The Immortal

21:00 Zombie and The Ghost Train

March 24

19:30 Turkish Chronicles

21:00 Tongue Twister

March 29

19:00 The City

March 31

19:00 Zombie and The Ghost Train

21:00 Turkish Chronicles

The Immortal

The Immortal

The City

The City

Tongue Twister

Tongue Twister

Zombie and The Ghost Train

Zombie and The Ghost Train

Turkish Chronicles

Turkish Chronicles

Istanbuls Today

Istanbuls Today is a photography exhibition that offers a comprehensive look into contemporary visual narratives from various Istanbuls that are shaped and experienced concurrently with the hope of creating a layered and innovative view of Istanbul's present.

Istanbuls Today

Interview with Isabel Muñoz <br> By Merve Akar Akgün

Interview with Isabel Muñoz
By Merve Akar Akgün

Isabel Muñoz is a Spanish photographer renowned for her captivating monochromatic portraits of individuals and cultures from around the world. Her works have been widely exhibited in numerous galleries and museums globally. 

From two portraits of children…

From two portraits of children…

The Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation’s Orientalist Painting Collection includes two children’s portraits that are often featured in exhibitions on the second floor of the Pera Museum. These portraits both date back to the early 20th century, and were made four years apart. One depicts Prince Abdürrahim Efendi, son of Sultan Abdulhamid II, while the figure portrayed on the other is Nazlı, the daughter of Osman Hamdi Bey.

At the Order of the Padishah

At the Order of the Padishah

In this piece, Żmurko presents an exotic image of a harem chamber, replete with gleaming fabrics and scattered jewels, as a setting for the statuesquely beautiful body of an odalisque murdered “at the order of the padishah”.