Ah Güzel İstanbul (Oh Beautiful Istanbul)
[ film | istanbul | misunderstanding | narrative | performance | reenactment | shadow puppets | subtitles | toy theater | translation ]
Performance, 2009
Ah Güzel İstanbul (Oh Beautiful Istanbul) is a performance that retells my understanding (and misunderstanding) of the 1966 Turkish film Ah Güzel İstanbul. I watched the film Ah Güzel İstanbul, but the movie does not have subtitles and I do not speak Turkish. Using toy theater, shadow theater (Karagöz), and video, I retell my understanding of the story, weaving my own story into the piece. The performance is narrated in Turkish and subtitled in English.
At the Center for Advanced Visual Studies. Special thanks to Aylin Yildirim.
The city is a cat purring feverishly. / 'It's streets are paved with gold.' / The city is a cat, sly and mischevious. / In the movie, there are no cats.
