Etel Adnan: Words in Exile

Director: Vouvoula Skoura
Greece, , 2008, 52', b&w, color
Greek with Turkish subtitles

The film reconstructs through an array of visual fragments, a multiplicity of languages, of peoples and their identities, the unique portrait of the poet and painter Etel Adnan. The film is based on Adnan’s correspondence with Professor of History Fawwaz Traboulsi and on fragments of her conversations with Vouvoula Skoura as recorded in Paris and the Greek island of Skopelos. Etel Adnan has lived through and experienced the troubles of the 20th century in Europe and the Middle East. Her origins caught between the two worlds, she attempts to comprehend their differences and is able to synthesize them under her deeply humanistic gaze. At the same time, she retraces those minute Greek instances in memories of her mother and recollections of her father in a universe of tales and poetry composed in Arabic.

Etel Adnan: Words in Exile

Etel Adnan: Words in Exile

Gavin Bryars and Etel Adnan: Five Senses for One Death

Gavin Bryars and Etel Adnan: Five Senses for One Death

I See Infinite Distance Between Any Point And Another

I See Infinite Distance Between Any Point And Another

In Conversation with Artist Etel Adnan

In Conversation with Artist Etel Adnan

“New Year” as a Turning Point: An Alternative New Year's Watchlist by Pera Film

“New Year” as a Turning Point: An Alternative New Year's Watchlist by Pera Film

The New Year is more than just a date change on the calendar. It often marks a turning point where the weight of past experiences is felt or the uncertainty of the future is faced. This season, Pera Film highlights films that delve into themes of hope, regret, nostalgia, and new beginnings.

Turquerie

Turquerie

Having penetrated the Balkans in the fourteenth century, conquered Constantinople in the fifteenth, and reached the gates of Vienna in the sixteenth, the Ottoman Empire long struck fear into European hearts. 

The Ottoman Way of Serving Coffee

The Ottoman Way of Serving Coffee

Coffee was served with much splendor at the harems of the Ottoman palace and mansions. First, sweets (usually jam) was served on silverware, followed by coffee serving. The coffee jug would be placed in a sitil (brazier), which had three chains on its sides for carrying, had cinders in the middle, and was made of tombac, silver or brass. The sitil had a satin or silk cover embroidered with silver thread, tinsel, sequin or even pearls and diamonds.