The Imvrians Society of Melbourne will be screening Life After Life: Greeks of Istanbul, a documentary film by Cem Hakverdi/Gonul Bozoglu about the historic Rum (Greek) population of Istanbul based on personal stories and community life.
George Xinos, a committee member of the Imvrian Society of Melbourne, told Neos Kosmos that the film would be screened at the Shirley Burke Theatre in Parkdale on 9 July and would also include a Zoom Question and Answer session with one of the film makers UK based academic and author Gonul Bozoglu.
Dr Bozoglu is a lecturer at Newcastle University and works with marginalised communities whose heritages have been suppressed. She has worked with minority Greek-Istanbuli groups in Istanbul and Athens to develop online “memory maps” and one of the results of that work is Life After Life.
Her project “aims to save community memories at risk, giving voice, and increasing awareness and visibility of hidden or silenced memories that are rarely recognised in official heritage”.
Mr Xinos described the film as a very emotive one: “the story begins with an old gentleman who lives Greece recalling life in Istanbul. He is driven to honour his promise to bury his parents in Istanbul with their ancestors and the film closes with him being able to do so,” said Mr Xinos.
The film also recounts the stories of other members of the Greek community of Istanbul. Its makers say the film reflects: “the latent force of historic state persecution – ruinous taxes and forced labour for religious minorities the 1955 Pogrom, and the 1964 expulsions of Greeks – shape the worlds of memory in which community members live”.
“The film is about what it means to live with the past in the present, and how people make their peace and new hope from a community memory of loss, displacement and difficulty.”
The film is in Turkish with English sub-titles.
View the film trailer here:
What: Imvrians Society of Melbourne Inc will screen Life After Life: Greeks of Istanbul, a documentary on the Greek community of Istanbul by Cem Hakverdi and Dr Gonul Bozoglu. The film, which is in Turkish with English sub-titles, will be followed by a Zoom Q&A session with Dr Bozoglu who is based at Newcastle University in Britain.
Where: Shirley Burke Theatre, 62-64Parkers Road, Parkdale
When: 7pm, Saturday 9 July
Cost: $25. Tickets are available via the Kingston Arts website: www.kingstonarts.com.au
