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Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (Unutma beni İstanbul)

Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (Unutma beni İstanbul)

Movie · 2011 · 18 people

Turkey and Greece joined forces on Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (Unutma Beni İstanbul), a drama told in anthology form. It gathers separate short films into a single feature, each tied to the layered memory of Istanbul. It aims to remind viewers that the city's past does not belong only to the peoples of present-day Turkey. Sevil Demirci and Emre Yeksan produced it under Hüseyin Karabey's umbrella, with seven internationally known directors.

Hany Abu-Assad, Stefan Arsenijević, Aida Begić, Eric Nazarian, Omar Shargawi, Josefina Markarian and Stergios Niziris directed seven short films of about fifteen minutes each, drawn from their own lives or from lives they witnessed. On screen are the Bosnian actress Alma, the middle-aged couple Dragan and Ana, Vangelis, Martha and Armenak; each has a different reason for being in the city, and its cosmopolitan history brings them together. Mira Furlan, Hiam Abbass, Jacky Nercessian, Serra Yılmaz and Belçim Bilgin are among the Turkish and international cast.

Billed as seven stories in seven languages about a seven-thousand-year-old city, the film is spoken in Arabic, English, Greek, Serbian and Turkish. It had its world premiere in Sarajevo in 2011, had its Middle East premiere at the Dubai Film Festival, and reached Turkish cinemas on 7 November 2014.

DirectorHany Abu-Assad, Stefan Arsenijević, Aida Begić, Eric Nazarian, Josefina Markarian, Omar Shargawi, Stergios Niziris
Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (Unutma beni İstanbul) Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (Unutma beni İstanbul) Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (Unutma beni İstanbul) Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (Unutma beni İstanbul)

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Cast

Ahmet Rıfat Şungar Ahmet Rıfat Şungar Actor · 43 years old Mirko Ayça Damgacı Ayça Damgacı Actor · 53 years old Baki Davrak Baki Davrak Actor · 55 years old Belçim Bilgin Belçim Bilgin Actor · 43 years old Görkem Yeltan Görkem Yeltan Actor · 49 years old Hümeyra Hümeyra Actor · 79 years old Mert Fırat Mert Fırat Actor · 45 years old Serra Yılmaz Serra Yılmaz Actor · 72 years old Settar Tanrıöğen Settar Tanrıöğen Actor · 66 years old Volga Sorgu Actor · 45 years old Svetozar Cvetković Svetozar Cvetković Actor · 68 years old Hiyam Abbas Hiyam Abbas Film actor · 65 years old Mira Furlan Mira Furlan Actor · died at 65 Ali Süleyman Ali Süleyman Actor · 49 years old Fayiz Jacky Nercessian Jacky Nercessian Actor · 75 years old Cengiz Bozkurt Cengiz Bozkurt Actor · 60 years old Salesman Alma Terziç Alma Terziç Actor · 39 years old Esin Alpogan Esin Alpogan Actor · 47 years old

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Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Unutma Beni İstanbul carries both the familiar strength and the familiar problem of the anthology film. Seven directors from different cinematic traditions, among them Hany Abu-Assad, Aida Begić and Stefan Arsenijević, look at the city from seven angles in shorts of about fifteen minutes each; that variety means uneven rhythm as much as richness. Some segments stand as self-contained stories while others may feel more like sketches. Still, bringing languages from Arabic to Serbian into a single film carries Istanbul's layered memory into the form itself. Performers such as Mira Furlan and Hiyam Abbas make it possible to pack dense characters into short running times. Scattered if you want a unified narrative; intriguing if you wonder how cinema can multiply around a single city.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film's most meaningful claim is its reminder that Istanbul's past does not belong only to the peoples of present-day Turkey. Bosnian Alma, Dragan and Ana, Vangelis, Martha and Armenak come to the city for different reasons, and what brings them together is its cosmopolitan history. As a Turkish-Greek co-production in which Arabic, Greek, Serbian, English and Turkish are all heard, it shows how deeply migration and belonging are intertwined in this city. That the stories grow out of the directors' own lives or what they witnessed lends the telling a personal authenticity. Shifts in tone between segments sometimes strain the whole, but for anyone curious about the city's multicultural memory it is a thought-provoking mosaic.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Let's be straight: this film is not for anyone after tension or pace. There are seven separate stories of about fifteen minutes each, and every one starts over with new characters, so you move on before you've warmed to the last. It's a drama, focused on people and the city rather than conflict. Seeing Istanbul through different eyes is interesting, but if you're expecting thrills across an hour and forty-seven minutes, your patience may be tested.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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