Merlyn Solakhan

A woman meanders through the streets of Istanbul five years after the military coup. Something is amiss, and the air is filled with a strangeness that seems to plague everyone. Friendship, conversation, boredom, wonder and hopelessness lead the woman to head to the island in the hope of change. What is left after all these?

Merlyn Solakhan’s feature documentary The City offers an unusual narrative on Istanbul. Solakhan roams every inch of the city, witnessing separate instances of standing stones, balloons, kites, cars, roads, and neighborhoods with her camera, whilst looking into the city’s nature, yesterday and today. The city from her perspective is intertwined with history. An essay film as well as a documentary, The City is a daring gaze on Istanbul. The movie goes beyond observation to working through and reflecting on the city, with no hesitation in bestowing a new image on it and seeing it in a new light.