The poster of the 39 th Istanbul Movie Festival designed by the Istanbul-based artist Cem Özüduru
Credit: Cem Özüduru/ IKSV
Coup attempts, terror attacks and economic collapse all failed to get Istanbul’s beloved Movie Festival cancelled in the past 4 decades. However 2 days after Turkey reported its very first Covid-19 case on 11 March, organisers revealed their 2020 edition was postponed, forcing the City on the 7 Hills to invest April without its stalwart cultural event for the first time given that 1984.
The 39 th Istanbul Film Celebration was because of run 10-21 April 2020, and rather ran as Mubi’s Istanbul Film Festival Unique
The 39 th IFF prepared to commemorate Alfred Hitchcock: a retrospective of 15 brought back classics which, programmers hoped, would “link young generations with Hitchcock’s genius” 40 years after the master’s death. The festival poster (imagined above) revealed a meditating girl surrounded by violent birds– obviously visitors from the 1963 traditional.
Right after the postponement Istanbul cinephiles were dealt a new blow: Atlas and Rexx, 2 film theatres that worked as IFF places for decades, had actually declared bankruptcy due to the lockdown and were shutting down.
Istanbul’s Atlas movie theater
Credit: Dogancan Heperler/ IKSV
Residents looked for alternatives and found one quickly before 10 April, the opening date of IFF. Kerem Ayan, the celebration director, revealed an arrangement with MUBI, the arthouse film streaming service established by the Turkish business owner Efe Çakarel.
This was a transformation of sorts: IFF 2020 would be telecasted. A selection of 12 previous winners of the celebration’s Golden Tulip award would be streamed between 10-21 April. MUBI’s sought after editorial area Note pad described “hosting an unique variation” of IFF as a “solution”, however not everyone would agree. “For festival-goers IFF equated to the spring season considering that 1984,” Ayan, the celebration director, told me. “To minimise their trauma we offered MUBI as a solution, and most audiences forgave us for it.”
Ayan proclaims there has actually never ever been a similar duration in the history of movie celebrations except the wartimes; he considers this “intermission duration” as a possibility to catch up with world cinema at a time of overproduction in film content.
IFF is Turkey’s most significant festival, having reached four million audiences in 39 years, while MUBI accumulated 9 million customers in November 2019, twelve years after its creation. Polyamorous viewers may savour offerings of both: MUBI developers use lessons learned from IFF and other festivals as they curate retrospectives and ‘MUBI Specials’ focusing on political emergencies, and MUBI’s scores and evaluation sections do produce a form of community.
Istanbul’s Rexx cinema
Credit: IKSV
But MUBI lacks IFF’s psychogeographical advantages. Its film menu changes from country to country due to copyright problems. Its well-written run-throughs can’t make up for experiences one has only at celebrations: the joy of finding a highly regarded critic in a screening as the lights dim; remembering an exceptional Ozu movie seen at the same theatre a few celebrations back; unsolicited crit sessions with launching filmmakers outside exit doors.
Ayan does not fear IFF will end up being reliant on streaming platforms. “Technology might shape film celebrations and seeing practices but we won’t compromise on film theatres.
However, losing theatres and being required to see movies in the house come as a defeat for Istanbul cinephiles who are popular for their dedication to public advocacy. In April 2013, between IFF screenings, thousands marched versus the closure of Emek Theatre, the main celebration venue. Cops deployed water cannon and tear gas to violently distribute a crowd that included moviemakers Costa-Gavras, Mike Newell and Turkish film critics.
Istanbul Film Celebration staff outside their headquarters
Credit: Kayhan Kaygusuz/ IKSV
The anti-government rallies of 2013 at Istanbul’s Gezi Park began 4 weeks later. Those understanding to protesters’ cause blew vuvuzelas, clapped hands and banged pots every evening to reveal assistance. Despite the outrage Emek was ruined; a kitsch shopping center replaced it.
” Emek, Atlas and Rexx developed their own audiences through our festival,” Ayan said. “We need to protect our design, based on the bond in between neighbourhoods, theatres and audiences. The attack on this model delivers a blow to Istanbul’s movie culture.”
Still, there’s room for optimism: last week, Atlas announced plans to change into a movie theater museum in the autumn. Around the very same time, the mayor of Kadıköy, from Turkey’s main opposition party, stepped in to save Rexx. “Once we conquer the epidemic, we’ll sit down with the lender to talk about how to protect this precious cultural heritage,” he said.
Ayan is also keeping his spirits up.
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