RETURN TO EUROPE
TURKEY – ISTANBUL – TRUTH, FEAR & HOPE

DOCUMENTARY / A 2008 / HD CAM / 52 & 45 MINUTES
directed by Peter Beringer

Synopsis

Istanbul, now the biggest European city, is a melting pot and well on the way to becoming the economic and cultural centre of the entire region. But in Istanbul the ethnic and social conflicts in Turkey can also be seen more clearly than in any other place. The city has grown by around 11 million inhabitants in the last 40 years. The old, easy-going city on the Bosporus has become a megalopolis which never sleeps and where the people are constantly on the move.
Turkey’s political rifts can be seen here more clearly than anywhere else. Millions of immigrants from Anatolia are fighting for a place in the sun – against old elites from the state bureaucracy and military. The “head scarf conflict”, the attempt to ban the governing AKP party, the wave of arrests of suspected rebels, and their suspected murder of journalists and priests all take place against this background.
The film portrays people in Istanbul who represent these different population classes and developments. From the simple cleaning lady who migrated from the east to the elite kemalist university professor, deeply rooted in istanbuls high society the film portrays people in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and with their stories shows the development in the last few decades.

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