European Union Initiative
Grant Scheme » Projects Supported
1661: CINE-EYE ISTANBUL
Grantee: ZeynepDadak (TR)
Duration: 9 months
Budget: € 15,000

The project will contribute to raising awareness of the mutual past through building a dialogue between cinema professionals and cinema-lovers from Armenia and Turkey. The grantee, ZeynepDadak, a filmmaker from Turkey, will produce a documentary/essay film called ‘1661: Cine-Eye Istanbul’ to present the multifaceted nature of the shared history of Istanbul. The film focuses onEremyaKomurciyan’s (an Armenian traveler and an intellectual) seminal book titled Istanbul in the Seventieth Century. In his bookKomurciyan situates himself as a subject who observes the city of Istanbul in 17th century before the invention of cinema as if he has a camera at hand.The grantee will take the traveler’s cine-eye (film technique aimed to capture what is "inaccessible to the human eye") as a starting point and hit the road to delve into contemporary Istanbul through the remains of the traveler’s route. The grantee has already filmed the documentary using alternative funds, and will use the sub-grant funds for post-production. The grantee will present the finalized film to the A-List Festival Premiere in 2019, as well as will meet up with international distributors, sales agents, and festival representatives and pressto further promote the film. After the premiere, the grantee will arrange an event-driven theatrical release in both Armenia and Turkey.The project will once again underline the paradigm of the mutual coexistence and cooperation and further promote a cultural dialogue between Turkey and Armenia.

Event Calendar
March
2024
MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
Translating Turkish prose into Armenian: another way of dialogue
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