Alexandria Trilogy Alexandria, Why?

Director: Youssef Chahine
Cast: Ahmed Zaki, Naglaa Fathy, Farid Shawqi
Egypt, Algeria, 127’, 1978, color
Arabic with Turkish subtitles

Winner of the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, this acclaimed first instalment in Chahine’s groundbreaking Alexandria Trilogy takes place in 1942, as British and Arab forces fight together against German troops advancing toward Alexandria. Yehia, here representing the young Youssef Chahine, is obsessed with Hollywood musicals and dreams of studying acting in the USA; a beautiful Jewish socialite must decide between fleeing the advancing Germans with her father or staying with her Egyptian lover, who is secretly working with the Germans; a wealthy Egyptian aristocrat murders occupying troops one by one until he meets a young British soldier with whom he develops a special bond. Chahine masterfully weaves these interrelated storylines together to create a magnificent historical and autobiographical tapestry.

Silver Bear & Special Jury Prize, Berlin International Film Festival

Chronicle of the Year of Embers

Chronicle of the Year of Embers

A Suspended Life

A Suspended Life

Date Wine

Date Wine

Omar Gatlato

Omar Gatlato

Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt

Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt

The Broken Wings

The Broken Wings

Alexandria Trilogy Alexandria, Again and Forever

Alexandria Trilogy Alexandria, Again and Forever

Alexandria Trilogy Alexandria, Why?

Alexandria Trilogy Alexandria, Why?

Alexandria Trilogy An Egyptian Story

Alexandria Trilogy An Egyptian Story

Reminiscences of Motifs

Reminiscences of Motifs

As artisanship became a part of artistic practices with the blurring of art and craft, the use of traditional motifs has also flourished. In this context, how are these motifs currently structured or designed beyond their traditional connotations? 

Midnight Horror Stories: Pollens, Photosynthesis & Rock ‘N’ Roll <br> Murat Başekim

Midnight Horror Stories: Pollens, Photosynthesis & Rock ‘N’ Roll
Murat Başekim

Pera Museum Blog is launching a new series of creepy stories in collaboration with Turkey’s Fantasy and Science Fiction Arts Association (FABISAD). The Association’s member writers are presenting newly commissioned short horror stories inspired by the artworks of Mario Prassinos as part of the Museum’s In Pursuit of an Artist: Istanbul-Paris-Istanbul exhibition. The third story is by Murat Başekim! The stories will be published online throughout the exhibition. Stay tuned!

An Ottoman Ambassador and a French Bulldog at Covent Garden

An Ottoman Ambassador and a French Bulldog at Covent Garden

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Pera Museum invites artist Benoît Hamet to reinterpret key pieces from its collections, casting a humourous eye over ‘historical’ events, both imagined and factual.