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The Istanbul Cinema Museum (İstanbul Sinema Müzesi) is an excellent museum chronicling the history of Turkish cinema and filmmaking in general.
The museum is located in the Atlas Passage (Atlas Pasajı) building on Istiklal Street. The building hosts the historic Atlas Cinema, which opened in 1948 and is still in operation. It was renovated between 2019 and 2021 to host the museum.
Visiting the Istanbul Cinema Museum
The Istanbul Cinema Museum is open daily except Mondays from 11am to 7pm. Admission is 120₺ (as of July 2023). The box office is in the lobby of the building to the left. Information is presented in both Turkish and English. You don’t have to be a lover of Turkish films to enjoy the museum!
Ceilings
First of all, walking up to the first floor of the museum, I was impressed by the ornate ceiling decorations in the stairwell. The ceilings were painted by French artist Hippolyte-Dominique Berteaux (1843-1926), who served as the Sultan’s painter from 1872 to 1875. He used mythological figures as well as geometric designs often used in Islamic art.
From this point on, I paid close attention to the ceilings throughout the rest of the museum. I’ll throw in photos of some of the ceilings after a description of exhibits in each room.
First Floor
The first floor of the Istanbul Cinema Museum is focused mostly on Turkish cinema. One room contains an interactive display featuring classic Turkish films. Visitors focus an iPad on a photo and the iPad plays a short clip from the film.
In the large hall on the first floor is another interactive display with information on countless Turkish films. There are also a few wax figures of famous Turkish actors and some of the typical cameras used to capture them.
A small room off to one side has a telephone bank chronicling some of the most memorable phone conversations in Turkish films. Each clip has English subtitles. Finally, another interactive display allows visitors to learn how a green screen works firsthand.
Second Floor
Once on the second floor there’s a small room focusing on the origins of film, starting with shadow puppets and contraptions that produced moving images.
The next room continues with a history of filmmaking. It includes early cameras and the first filmmaking techniques, starting with innovations by the Lumière brothers in 1895.
More cameras follow, with models from Europe and the United States popular with filmmakers throughout the 20th century. The ornate fireplaces decorating these rooms were another highlight.
The camera room opens to the awards corner, featuring the accomplishments of several important Turkish directors. There’s also a section highlighting Turkish films that have won awards at international film festivals.
The final room on the second floor contains biographies and artifacts of Turkish actors and director Memduh Ün (1920-2015). There’s also the camera that recorded Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s (1881-1938) 10-year speech as well as a Steenbeck 16mm/35mm flatbed film editing table.
Third Floor
The third floor of the Istanbul Cinema Museum contains rotating exhibits. On display during my visit was a selection of photos showing what goes on behind the scenes of Turkish films.
