Pera Film presents a new screening program alongside its current exhibition Samih Rifat: “Çok İş Var Yapacak” (Much Work to Be Done). The film selection, titled “The Photographer”, will be on view between May 2–25 and features six films that explore the limits of seeing, recording, and interpreting.
Organized by the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Pera Museum Film and Video Programs, this program invites audiences on a deep journey into the nature of vision, perceptions of reality, and the memory of images. Titled “The Photographer”, the program will be screened at the Pera Museum Auditorium between May 2–25.
The selection includes documentaries about master photographers featured in Rifat’s photo book Akla Kara Arası, such as Sebastião Salgado, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Koudelka, and Bill Cunningham. It also features two fiction films that have left a significant mark on cinema history.
From Photography to Cinema: A Pera Film Selection
Among the films to be screened at the Pera Museum Auditorium is The Salt of the Earth, directed by Wim Wendersand Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, which follows the world-renowned photographer Sebastião Salgado on his journey from documenting human tragedies to exploring nature. Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic thriller Rear Window reveals the connection between photography and cinema through a mystery that unfolds through the lens of a photographer.
Michelangelo Antonioni’s masterpiece Blow-Up questions how visual media shapes reality, tracing the story of a photograph taken by chance. The documentary Koudelka: Crossing the Same River, directed by Coşkun Aşar, accompanies legendary photographer Josef Koudelka in his exploration of ancient Mediterranean ruins, examining photography’s documentary power and its timeless nature.
The program also includes Bill Cunningham New York, directed by Richard Press, which focuses on the life of New York’s veteran fashion photographer. As part of the online screening program, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Biography of a Look, directed by Heinz Bütler, will be available on the Pera Museum website on May 9 and 10. This documentary delves into Cartier-Bresson’s life and his unique perspective on photography.
Pera Film: Screening Schedule for the Samih Rifat Exhibition
The Salt of the Earth
May 10, Saturday – 15:00
May 23, Friday – 19:00
Rear Window
May 3, Saturday – 15:00
May 9, Friday – 19:00
Blow-Up
May 2, Friday – 19:00
May 11, Sunday – 15:00
Koudelka: Crossing the Same River
May 4, Sunday – 15:00
May 24, Saturday – 15:00
Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Biography of a Look
May 9, Friday (Online Screening)
May 10, Saturday (Online Screening)
Bill Cunningham New York
May 7, Wednesday – 19:00
May 25, Sunday – 17:30
All screenings in this program can be attended with a discounted museum entry ticket. Tickets are available via Biletix or at the Pera Museum front desk.
