Under the Shadow of Occupations

October 15 - December 10, 2023

Pera Film, in coordination with the Occupied City exhibition organized by the Istanbul Research Institute, revisits one of the most pivotal points in cinema history, the birth years of Italian Neorealism. Under the Shadow of Occupations traces the radical impacts of war on cities and communities through the War Trilogy filmed by pioneer figure Roberto Rossellini right after World War II. 

The trilogy, composed of Rome Open City (1945), Paisan (1946), and Germany Year Zero (1948), has garnered attention with its simple yet authentic aesthetic, a cast mainly comprised of amateur actors, and original narrative techniques that broke traditional molds; not only capturing the essence of a specific historical period but also significantly influencing the narrative and formal features of modern cinema.

Winning the Grand Prize at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival, Rome Open City, one of the early examples of neorealist cinema, portrays life and resistance in Nazi-occupied Rome, while Paisan follows stories in six cities in Italy during the war. The final installment, Germany Year Zero, depicts the misery in post-war Berlin streets through the tragic story of a 12-year-old boy.

Film screenings within this program are accessible with a discounted museum entrance ticket. Tickets can be obtained from Biletix or the reception of Pera Museum. In accordance with legal regulations, all screenings are restricted to persons over 18 years of age unless stated otherwise.

October 15

15:00 Rome Open City

October 18

19:00 Paisan

October 22

15:00 Germany Year Zero

December 2

15:00 Rome Open City

December 8

19:00 Paisan

December 10

15:00 Germany Year Zero

Rome Open City

Rome Open City

Paisan

Paisan

Germany Year Zero

Germany Year Zero

Shaping Forms  The Migrant Body / Shaping Ideologies

Shaping Forms The Migrant Body / Shaping Ideologies

Constituting the entirety of all the perceived aspects of an object creating their own order, form not only contains visual elements and characteristics, but can also help elucidate concepts. 

Mosques in the 18th and 19th Century Paintings

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In the works of western painters, we encounter mosques as the primary architectural elements that reflect the identity of the city of Istanbul. Often we can recognize the depicted landscape as Istanbul simply from the mosques. 

A Photographer’s Biography Guillaume Berggren

A Photographer’s Biography Guillaume Berggren

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