Desmet Collection: Ladies first!

  • May 26, 2023 / 19:00
  • June 2, 2023 / 19:30

Le Acque miracolose (Eleuterio Rodolfi, 1914, 9’)
Fleurs des champs (1912, 3’)
Anna Karenina (Maurice André Maître, 1911, 10’)
Das Geheimschloss (1914, 54’)
A Lady and Her Maid (Bert Angeles, 1913, 13’) 

DCP, b&w
English intertitles with Turkish subtitles

Contrary to what we might think today, looking at female underrepresentation in cinema, women formed an essential part of the early film industry. Not only were many executive women (directors, scriptwriters and producers), but also, the women portrayed on screen were daring and modern characters (often echoing the real life of the actresses who incarnated them). Many films revolved around a female character undertaking unusual and daring activities, like Miss Clever (Danish actress Ellen Jensen-Eck) in Das Geheimschloss, who helps the police to catch the crooks, doing fearless stunts and uncanny disguises. Initially, only famous dramatic parts were assigned to already renowned actresses of the stage (like Sarah Bernhardt, or Madam Soroktina as Anna Karenina in this program, adapted from Tolstoy’s famous novel and released one year after the author’s death).

The program consists of five films from the Desmet Collection. The compilation is built to resemble the common practice of the early 1910s theatre-going experience, starting with a comedy, followed by short fiction or non-fiction films, and a feature, often finishing again with a short comedy.

The Brilliant Biograph: Earliest Moving Images of Europe <br>(1897-1902)

The Brilliant Biograph: Earliest Moving Images of Europe
(1897-1902)

The Forbidden Quest

The Forbidden Quest

Carmen of the North

Carmen of the North

A Profitable Exchange

A Profitable Exchange

Desmet Collection: Ladies first!

Desmet Collection: Ladies first!

İstanbul: Before & After

İstanbul: Before & After

Selected from the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Photography Collection, we present the landscapes and places in Istanbul photographs, dating from the 1850s to the 1980s, together with their present-day views!

Explore the Museum with the Little Yellow Circle!

Explore the Museum with the Little Yellow Circle!

Published as part of Pera Learning programs, “The Little Yellow Circle (Küçük Sarı Daire)” is a children’s book written by Tania Bahar and illustrated by Marina Rico, offering children and adults to a novel learning experience where they can share and discover together.

The Ottoman Way of Serving Coffee

The Ottoman Way of Serving Coffee

Coffee was served with much splendor at the harems of the Ottoman palace and mansions. First, sweets (usually jam) was served on silverware, followed by coffee serving. The coffee jug would be placed in a sitil (brazier), which had three chains on its sides for carrying, had cinders in the middle, and was made of tombac, silver or brass. The sitil had a satin or silk cover embroidered with silver thread, tinsel, sequin or even pearls and diamonds.