ISTANBUL.- Beykoz Kundura was established in the early 1800s as a leather factory and redeveloped into a shoe factory in 1933. It has played a crucial role in the industrialisation programmes of both the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey, and with over 200 years of uninterrupted industrial production, has come to represent a unique example of Turkey’s industrial and cultural heritage.

The former Sümerbank factory, now Beykoz Kundura, used to have its own cinema, holding screenings as a cultural event for the community and workers. The food hall was transformed into a cinema during the wintertime, whilst in summer open-air screenings were hosted. Now, The Boiler Room, which formed the heart of the factory complex, has been restored for the ​Kundura Cinema project to serve as one of the newest, and yet most historic, cultural platforms in Istanbul. In Turkey, Kundura Cinema is the first example of an industrial cultural site that has been turned into a cinema space.

Running parallel to the 16th Istanbul Biennial of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), Kundura Cinema will feature a special selection of thematic screenings as part of a programme entitled ​As Real Becomes Surreal from ​14 September-9 November​. Curated by ​Pia Chakraverti-Wuerthwein​ and ​S. Buse Yıldırım​, four short films and one feature film have been selected for their resonance with the biennial theme ‘The Seventh Continent’, centred around the relationship and impact of human activities on the planet.

S. Buse Yıldırım, Managing Artistic Director at Beykoz Kundura and Pia Chakraverti Wuerthwein, Curatorial Advisor of Kundura Cinema commented: “​In the face of climate degradation that would have seemed impossible, absurd, or surreal if seen from the past, there is a need for mythology or irrational explanations for the inexplicable. In our program As Real Becomes Surreal we explore the practices of artists who have turned to myth and fantasy as a means of addressing the contemporary world. Addressing topics ranging from urban decay to the relationship of humanity and its surroundings, many of the artists draw on their own biographies and bodies, and throughout the works the natural environment is personified, demanding space and agency upon the screen.”