Gothic: The Dark Heart Of Film February 26–March 8, 2015

In collaboration with the British Council and the British Film Institute, Istanbul Modern Cinema celebrates the shadowy world of gothic film by presenting a selection of gothic stories burning with lust, drenched in gore and dread, and feeding on our darkest desires and fears. From vampires and werewolves to ghosts and tormented souls, the program reveals how the archetypes of Gothic horror and romance have endured, reflecting our deepest fears back at us. Gothic literature was born in Britain in the 18^th and 19^th centuries with phenomenal novels by authors such as Mary Shelly and Bram Stoker. Film brought the ominous skeleton of this genre to life, putting flesh on its bones. Turning characters such as Dracula and Frankenstein into cult figures, Gothic film found its way from its origins in the silent era into today’s twilight world.

The selection includes films such as Dead of Night (1945) made up of five ghost stories; Nicholas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now (1973), a psychological thriller shot in the dark streets of Venice; and David Lynch’s The Elephant Man, which tells the story of John Merrick, a freak said to have actually lived in 19^th century London.