"Return to Europe" - Film screenings at Bilgi University Santral Campus in Istanbul

"Greece – Alexander's Shadow"
(52 minutes, in English)

"Istanbul: Truth, Fear and Hope"
(52 minutes, in English)

"a compelling documentary series about the Balkans and Turkey”
Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Enlargement

"These are documentaries all of us citizens of the European Union should have the opportunity to see"
Giuliano Amato, former Italian Prime Minister

Return to Europe Series
Winner of the 2008 Erasmus EuroMedia Award

additional offer:

"A Touch of Spice"
(a film by Tassos Boulmetis)

on Saturday, 31 January 2009, at 16.00

A joint event of the European Stability Initiative (ESI) and Bilgi University, supported by the Open Society Fellowship Programme

As part of a symposium on Nationalism and Europeanisation in Greece and Turkey, organised by ESI and supported by the Open Society Fellowship Programme, ESI invites you to Bilgi University to see the documentaries "Istanbul: Truth, fear and hope" and "Greece – Alexander's Shadow". 

Both are part of the award-winning 2008 documentary series Return to Europe and will be shown for the first time in Turkey. So far 3.1 million people have seen these films on 3sat and ORF TV channels in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The series is supported by ERSTE Stiftung and has been jointly produced by the German-language satellite channel 3sat, Austria's public broadcaster ORF and the TV production company pre-TV, in cooperation with the European Stability Initiative (ESI), upon whose research and analysis these films are based. The documentaries have recently been shown at international events in Barcelona, Tirana, Berlin, Brussels, and other cities and have received very positive feedback. They will be broadcast by a number of TV stations throughout the Balkans in coming months.

We will also screen the award winning movie "A Touch of Spice" by Tassos Boulmetis.  This wonderful poetic film, which was a huge international success, also deals with Greek-Turkish relations through a personal story: that of a family of Istanbul Greeks who were expelled from their home city in the 1960s. Tassos Boulmetis, himself born in Istanbul, will join us and talk about his film and his experiences. 

The event is free and will be in English without translation.

Please confirm your participation by e-mail to Sandra Bien-Aime no later than Thursday, 29 January.