Yapım Tarihi - 2016
Süre - 00:00:00
Format - Format - Belgesel, Renkli, Türkçe
Yönetmen - Zeynep Kılıç
TABLES OF ISTANBUL / SOFRA SOFRA İSTANBUL
Director: Zeynep Kilic
Screenwriter: Zeynep Kilic
A Turkish immigrant in the U.S. explores her identity through her homeland foods in an excursion to Istanbul, Turkey.
Zeynep Kilic
Istanbul ve Turkiye'deki yemek kültürlerini arastiran, sofranin kimlikle olan baglantisini irdeleyen bir belgesel. Turk
Kultur Vakfi, Turkiye Arastirmalar Merkezi, UAA Innovate ve Fulbright Turkiye destegiyle...
12 Nisan 2016
3. Seattle Türk Film Festivali, Gösterim Seçkisi. 2016
Kaynak
Seattle Türk Film Festivali
Sofra Sofra İstanbul
''Sofra Sofra İstanbul'' belgeselinin gösterimi ve söyleşisi gerçekleştirildi.
Anadolu Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi tarafından düzenlenen “Sofra Sofra İstanbul” adlı belgesel filmin gösterimi ve
söyleşisi, 6 Mayıs Cuma günü Anadolu Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Prof. Dr. Taciser Tüfekçi Sivas Konferans
Salonu’nda gerçekleştirildi. Gösterim ve söyleşiye, çok sayıda öğretim elemanı ve öğrenci katıldı.
Belgesel filmin gösterimi öncesinde gerçekleştirilen söyleşinin açılış konuşmasında Sosyoloji Bölümü Öğretim Üyesi Yrd.
Doç. Dr. Erhan Akarçay, Alaska Anchorage Üniversitesi Öğretim Üyesi Doç. Dr. Zeynep Kılıç’ın özgeçmişi hakkında bilgi
vererek şöyle konuştu: “Doç. Dr. Zeynep Kılıç, bugün çok heyecanla takip ettiğimiz belgeselini bizimle paylaşacak. Kendi
göçmenlik hikâyesi üzerinden, yemek sosyolojisi alanında belirli birtakım şeylere dokunarak mutfak kültürü ve
İstanbul’da değişen kimlik bağlamında bize bazı açıklamalarda bulunacak.”
“Aslında bu proje, benim göçmen kimliğimle direkt alakalı bir proje. Ben 23 yıldır Amerika’da yaşıyorum. Bu süreç içinde
Türk yemekleri, benim kimliğimin en önemli parçalarından biriydi. Hiçbir zaman sorgulamadığım ama her zaman ön planda,
merkezde olan bir şeydi.’’ diyen Doç. Dr. Zeynep Kılıç, Alaska’ya taşınmasıyla birlikte yaşadığı yerin coğrafi konumu ve
iklimi açısından yemek alışkanlıklarını sorgulamaya başladığını dinleyicilere aktardı. Doç. Dr. Kılıç, “Türk yemekleri,
Osmanlı kültürü veya mutfak kültürü üzerine aslında çok şey bilmediğimi de fark ettiğim için biraz da bunu daha fazla
öğrenmek, daha iyi anlamak hedefiyle bu projeye başladım.’’ diyerek sözlerine son verdi.
Söyleşinin ardından, Doç. Dr. Zeynep Kılıç’ın Türk mutfağı, göç ve bunların birbirleriyle olan etkileşimlerini
araştırmak üzere Alaska’dan İstanbul’daki çeşitli semt, restoran ve farklı kesimlerden ailelere kadar uzanan yolculuğunu
konu alan belgesel filminin gösterimi gerçekleştirildi. Gösterim ve söyleşi soru-cevap bölümünün ardından sona erdi.
eskisehirgundem.com
10 Mayıs 2016
Sofra Sofra İstanbul Belgesel Film Gösterimi ve Söyleşi
Düzenleyen: Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyoloji Bölümü
6 Mayıs Cuma 14:00
Anadolu Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Sosyoloji Bölümü
Alaska Anchorage Üniversitesi öğretim üyesi Doç. Dr. Zeynep Kılıç yemek sosyolojisi perspektifinden İstanbul mutfak
kültürünü göç, kimlik, kültür tartışmalarıyla ve pek tabii ki lezzetle değerlendirecek. Anadolu Üniversitesi Edebiyat
Fakültesi Prof. Dr. Taciser Tüfekçi Sivas Salonu'nda.
Digging into the ‘Tables of Istanbul’
Zeynep Kılıç’s film explores Turkish cuisine in Istanbul
In the first few minutes of Zeynep Kılıç’s documentary film Tables of Istanbul (Sofra Sofra İstanbul), she recalls how,
early in their relationship, her now husband, Wayne, joked that if they were ever to break up, he needed the rights to
her red pepper paste. The rich, slightly spicy paste – a staple ingredient in Turkish cuisine and the supporting actor
that often steals the show – has a way of seducing the palate.
Kılıç and her husband, Wayne, in their home in Alaska
Tables of Istanbul represents an overlap of Kılıç’s professional work as a sociologist and her experience as an
immigrant to the US who is passionate about cooking. Her main question in the film – ‘What is on the authentic Turkish
table?’ – grew from her experience as a Turkish woman in the States, forging bonds with loved ones and reminiscing about
her homeland over a dinner table full of Turkish dishes. Over the course of the film, her personal quest to better
understand what comprises Turkish cuisine grows into a broader discussion of food production and consumption in Turkey,
with a focus on its culinary heart, Istanbul.
Using film as a medium was way outside of the academic’s comfort zone. So too was the personal nature of the project,
which is firmly rooted in Kılıç’s own migration story. Yet both have their benefits. As Kılıç says, ‘Because food is
such a universal topic, I wanted the project to reach as many people as possible.’ A short documentary film has the
potential to reach a wider audience than, say, an article in an academic journal. Plus, while Turkish cuisine is the
focus, one of the film’s themes is food as it relates to immigration, something that she believes people the world over
can identify with.
Kılıç cooking Turkish food at her home in Alaska
The personal narrative grounds the film, providing necessary bookends to such a far-reaching investigation. In the
opening shots, we get a glimpse of Kılıç’s life in Alaska – she relocated to the state for a much-coveted job in
academia after completing her PhD in Arizona. Struggling to adjust to life in such a harsh climate, Kılıç wonders
whether eating like a Turk in Alaska is absurd. This thought triggers a number of other considerations: that Kılıç’s
Turkish identity becomes sharper in the kitchen; that the Turkish food she cooks for loved ones is her individual
interpretation of the cuisine, influenced by her upbringing and taste; that maybe the idea of a ‘Turkish kitchen’ is
just a jumble of clichés.
Kılıç in Istanbul. She was drawn to the city for her research on Turkish cuisine because of its cosmopolitanism
This line of questioning brings her to Istanbul, a culinary centre throughout history and a melting pot that is home to
migrants from Turkey and abroad. While Kılıç never lived in Istanbul, she views the city as a microcosm of Turkey and
the place where discourse is set. On its face, her question about the nature of authentic Turkish food seems too
sweeping to answer in an hour documentary, not to mention a bit hackneyed. Yet it proves a jumping-off point to explore
various aspects of Turkish cuisine with some of the biggest names in the food world, from academics to chefs and
activists, as well as home cooks and the families they feed.
Şemsa Denizsel, the founder and owner of the Cornucopia-favourite Kantin, is featured in the film
What Kılıç finds is that Turkish cuisine, at least in Istanbul, is intertwined with geography and class. The experts she
speaks to have different ideas – sometimes wildly so – on food in Istanbul, both past and present. That’s to be expected,
as Kılıç tells me that she only wanted to talk to people who have a clear-cut point of view: ‘I wanted to learn and hear
from them about their vision and their interpretation of what is going on in Istanbul today.’ She also breaks bread with
families who migrated to Istanbul from Adıyaman and the Black Sea region, discussing food habits and their
disinclination to try foods from different regions – it seems that everyone is looking for the tastes of home. Together,
these snippets briefly touch on many issues related to food production and consumption, raising more questions than they
answer.
Kılıç had dinner with the Polatdemir family – the mother (on the left) said that her children won’t eat dishes brought
by neighbours from other regions because they are not used to the different tastes
Yet this film isn’t about answers. Rather, it provides a snapshot of the current state of affairs of the Istanbul food
scene; it reveals the breadth of Turkish cuisine; and it hints that there is much more to be discovered regarding the
intersection of food, class and geography.
Defne Koryürek, the founder of Slow Food Istanbul, is also featured in the film
When Kılıç began filming, she didn’t imagine it as a personal film – there were no plans for her to be in any shoots, or
to include footage of her family. However, she eventually made the transition from having a question – as academics do –
to crafting a story, and good that she did. Her personal narrative weaves a thread through the wide range of topics and
perspectives covered in the film. At times the scope still manages to feel too broad, like one of those Istanbul
restaurants with a 20-page menu. Yet this demonstrates how much there is to explore on the subject, especially as it
relates to social class more so than identity. Kılıç plans to release an academic book based on her research and, while
we always love a good film about Istanbul, we can’t wait to see her plumb the depths of this subject.
Zeynep Kılıç was able to make ‘Tables of Istanbul’ with the financial support of numerous institutions, including a
grant from the Turkish Cultural Foundation. To learn more about future screenings and possible distribution, you can
visit the film’s Facebook page and website. Click here to watch the trailer.
The main featured image is from Dârüzziyafe Restaurant in Istanbul. All photographs are from the film.
Posted in Contemporary Art, Film
BY EMMA HARPER | MAY 18, 2016
cornucopia.net
Tables of Istanbul
Director/Executive Producer/Script Writer: Zeynep Kılıç
Director of Photography: Demir Efe
Editing Director: Sevgi Taylan
Cameraman: Kamil Satır
Camera Assistant: İsa Aydın
Audio/ Editing/Color Correction: Görkem Koç
Lighting: Utku Mete
Production Assistant: Evin Aslan
Music/Mixing: Serkan Sönmezocak
Production/Postproduction: Garaj Film
Graphic Design: Hakan Arslan
Tables of Istanbul captures the personal story of Zeynep Kılıç – a sociologist, immigrant, and passionate cook exploring
food cultures in Istanbul (a.k.a. eating her way through the bustling city). The documentary investigates Turkish
cuisine, Istanbul’s place within it, and food movements through conversations with chefs, restaurateurs, researchers,
food writers, activists and families.
The documentary has been supported by generous grants from the Turkish Cultural Foundation, Institute of Turkish Studies,
Fulbright Turkey, and the University of Alaska Anchorage Innovate and Faculty Development grants.
For more information on the story of the project, please visit our Blog page.
