As part of the 14th Istanbul Biennial, entitled SALTWATER: A Theory of Thought Forms, Istanbul Modern Cinema presents a film program in collaboration with IKSV and with the contributions of Istanbul Modern Cinema sponsor Türk Tuborg A.Ş. Programmed by Müge Turan (feature-length films) and James Richards (artists’ films), drafted by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, the program pairs feature-length films with artists’ films that share similar themes. Feature-length films that use as their theme or background the concepts of salt water, seas, waves, ecological changes and fluidity are paired with artists’ film inspired by the sea and water. The program consists of four different sections: Eco-Fi, Subaquatic, Survivor, and Life on the Shore. Ranging from the silent era to the present day, the feature-length films include everything from documentaries to box office hits and European and American classics. This coupling of feature-length movies and artists’ films juxtaposes two disciplines that rarely share the same platform, revealing their common features, even if at first glance some of the paired films may seem to be quite different. The Eco- Fi and Subaquatic sections of the program will be screened from September 5 through October 4. The September section of the program features John Huston’s cinema classic Moby Dick (1956), adapted from Herman Melville’s novel; Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo (2009), a magical animated movie about a young fish-girl; Watermark (2015) a documentary that reveals how we shape the Earth’s waters and the soil on which we live both physically and culturally.
The program also features JG (2013) by Tacita Dean; Nummer Veertien, Home (Number Fourteen, Home, 2012) by Guido Wan Der Werve; and Marguerite Duras’ 1981 L’Homme Atlantique (The Atlantic Man). These films will be screened on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, between September 5-October 4.
THE ATLANTIC MAN (L’HOMME ATLANTIQUE), 1981
France | 35mm, Color | 45' | French
Director: Marguerite Duras
THE TALE OF THE WHITE WHALE (DER WEIßE WAL), 2001
Germany | Blu-ray, Color, 72’ | German
Director: Stephan Köster
THIRTY LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, 1914
USA | Digital, Black & White | 13'35"
Director: Carl Gregory. Archive: EYE Filmmuseum
THE ABYSS, 1989
USA | Blu-ray, Color, 145’ | English
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn
PONYO, 2008
Japan | 35mm, Color, 101’ | Japanese
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Voice cast: Yuria Nara, Tomoko Yamaguchi, Kazushige Nagashima
MOBY DICK, 1956
ABD | 35mm, Renkli, 116’ | İngilizce
Yönetmen: John Huston
Oyuncular: Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn
SALT PRODUCTION IN SICILY (EXPLOITATION DU SEL EN SICILE), 1912
France| Digital, Black & White, 4'58" | Intertitles in Flemish
Director: Anonymous Producer: Pathé Frères
Archive: EYE Filmmuseum
THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU, 2004
USA | Blu-ray, Color, 119’ | English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Tagalog, Icelandic, Filipino, French
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe
WATERWORLD, 1995
USA | Blu-ray, Color, 135’ | English
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Cast: Kevin Costner, Leonardo Cimino, Rick Aviles
WATERMARK, 2013
Canada | DCP, Color, 92’ | English, Hindi, Spanish, Mandarin, Bengali
Directors: Jennifer Baichwal, Edward Burtynsky
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, 2004
USA | Blu-ray, Color, 124’ | English
Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum