Murat ve Ismail (Film Poster)

The film “Murat ve Ismail” is focused on a single family-run shoemaker’s shop in the Istanbul's neighborhood of Beyoğlu and depicts two lives, the father (Ismail) and his son (Murat), caught up in the economic transformations ripping through Istanbul. As the nature of the relationship between them gradually emerges, we are introduced to other characters that visit the shop and try in different ways to take advantage of their difficult economic situation. «The film needs to be seen as a narrative from beginning to end. It has some of the appearances of a recording of reality, but its drama and emotional perception are almost too intimate to be true, pushing us to question where the border between fact and fiction is drawn.» Charles Esche. First exhibition: Istanbul Biennial. Turkey, 2005 (curated by Charles Esche & Vasif Kortun).