The public program of the Gaza Biennale – The Istanbul Pavilion includes Palestinian film screenings, poetry and music evenings, writing workshops, table of scholars, walk-throughs, performances, and more. Depo will also host frequent in-situ conversations with the Gazan artists.

Upcoming Events

November 5, Wednesday, 19:00

• A Tribute to Mahmoud Darwish

An evening of poetry readings, performances, and music with Hesham Abu Asaker, Boutheyna Bouslama, Léa Madelaine Jacquot, Niam Itani, Ayşe Gül Altınay, and other participants.

Convened by Valérie Cachard and A.S. Bruckstein Çoruh.

November 7, Friday, 18:30

• Lecture: Rashid Khalidi

Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor emeritus of modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, will be presenting his book The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017, published by Iletişim Publishing in September.

The event will be held in English with simultaneous translation into Turkish. Registration is not required.

November 8, Saturday, 12:00

• Table of Scholars: (Un)doing the Biennial – Comments on the Gaza Biennale – The Istanbul Pavilion

A discussion with Angela Harutyunyan and members of House of Taswir.

The event will be held in English.

Past Events

September 19, Friday, 18:00

Opening of the Gaza Biennale – The Istanbul Pavilion: A Cloud in My Hand

Curated by House of Taswir in collaboration with Addar Center İstanbul, the Gaza Biennale Initiative, the Forbidden Museum of Jabal Al Risan in Palestine, and associated friends.

September 20, Saturday, 19:00

Opening of the Palestine Films, screening program moderated and introduced by Gülen Güler & Khaled Tanji. Film program starts with the screening of 5 short films and a talk with Waseem Khair, the director of the film Gaza Bride 17.

All films will be screened with Turkish and English subtitles, and the talk with Waseem Khair will be in English. All screenings are free of charge and registration is not required.

• Artist From Gaza

Director: Gaza Biennale
Palestine, 2025, 10’

Art from Gaza becomes the first language of truth—each artist capturing essential moments of resistance by creating in the most difficult times.

• Sweat

Director: Hasan Tanji
Palestine, 2016, 5’

From the sea of Palestine began the refugee’s journey, moving through exiles imposed by wars, where memories are killed and new ones are born. In a constant struggle with place and identity, the sea this time becomes the final path to exile.

• Waiting For Hasan

Director: Alper Şen
Turkey, 2022, 7’

In the middle of the battle, a sniper is trapped in an emplacement. While listening to the sounds of war at this moment, he cannot silence his inner voice.

• It Could Have Been Me

Director: Lina Abdulkari
Egypt, 2025, 12’

Seeing the harsh realities of life through your friends. A short film about coming of age.

• Gaza Bride 17

Director: Waseem Khair
Palestine, 2024, 20’

A fisherman from Gaza is trapped in his haunting memories. After losing his only child, he suffers from post-traumatic disorder that leads him on a psychological journey, reliving his tragedy in a different reality.

September 21, Sunday, 12:00

Table of Scholars: Mapping Gaza with artist and curator Hala Alnaji (Gaza/Malmö), participating artist Azza Ezzat (Cairo), Gaza Biennale artist Mohammad Suliman (Gaza/ Cairo) and members of House of Taswir.

The event will be in English.

September 23, Tuesday, 19:00

Music evening with the band Ayna Ayna.

September 24, Wednesday, 19:00

Poetry & Music Evening

Poetry readings with Palestinian poet Khaled Alsaid, moderated by writer and performer Valérie Cachard accompanied by Mohamad Salem on the oud.

The event will be in Arabic and English.

September 27, Saturday, 19:00

Palestine Films

• Artist From Gaza

Director: Gaza Biennale
Palestine, 2025, 10’

Art from Gaza becomes the first language of truth—each artist capturing essential moments of resistance by creating in the most difficult times.

• Abu Jabal

Director: Bisan Owda
Palestine, 2025, 20’

The dream of going back home, or to its ruins.

• Class Outside

Director: Aylin Kuryel, Fırat Yücel, Deniz Buga
Netherlands, 2025, 34’

A collective video-diary capturing everyday moments of resistance, in solidarity with Palestine.

• Awaiting For Appointment

Director: Tara Tarawneh
USA, 2023, 20’

An experimental documentary that explores the real and political dimensions of thirst.

September 28, Sunday, 12:00 – 15:00

Evocative Objects: Gazan stories told by objects

A workshop in creative writing with Valérie Cachard.

The event will be in English. Participation is limited to 10 people. To register:
taswir.projects@gmail.com

October 1, Wednesday, 19:00

Walter Benjamin – On The Concept of History (annotated)

A philosophical experiment in four languages.

Walk-through performance with Patrizia Bach, Khaled Alsaid, Aslı Odman, A.S. Bruckstein Çoruh.

October 2, Thursday, 19:00-20:30

Global Solidarity Music Journey with DJ Omar Aena & Ali AlDallal

October 4, Saturday, 19:00

Palestine Films

All films will be screened with Turkish and English subtitles. Registration is not required.

• Artist From Gaza

Director: Gaza Biennale

Palestine, 2025, 10’

Art from Gaza becomes the first language of truth—each artist capturing essential moments of resistance by creating in the most difficult times.

• Man Number 4

Director: Miranda Pennell

UK, 2025, 20’

Gaza, December 2023: A confrontation with a disturbing photograph on social media triggers questions about what it means to be an onlooker.

• A Portrait of Michel

Director: Christine Gedeon

Syria-USA, 2025, 44’

Talk with Christine Gedeon, the director of A Portrait of Michel.

A Portrait of Michel is an investigative video portrait that retraces the mysterious 1978 abduction of the filmmaker’s uncle by the Hafez al-Assad regime, uncovering fragments of his fate through witnesses, prisons, and silence.

October 5, Sunday, 12:00 – 15:00

Evocative Objects: Gazan stories told by objects (II)

A workshop in creative writing with Valérie Cachard.

The event will be in English. Participation is limited to 10 people. To register:

October 9, Thursday, 14:00

The Trembling City: Designing Sonic Refuge Workshop

Venue: Salt Galata

Facilitated by Prof. Dr. Gascia Ouzounian and Nathalie Harb.

Organized by Urban.koop, in collabration with the Gazze Biennale – The Istanbul Pavilion.

October 11, Saturday, 19:00

Palestine Films

All films will be screened with Turkish and English subtitles. Registration is not required.

• Artist From Gaza

Director: Gaza Biennale

Palestine, 2025, 10’

Art from Gaza becomes the first language of truth—each artist capturing essential moments of resistance by creating in the most difficult times.

• Live Broadcast

Director: Emad Badwan

Palestine, 2025, 10’

A journalist from Gaza fights to transmit fragments of truth, an unbroken lifeline between a silenced land and the watching world.

• Edward Said Talks About the Need to Make Things Real

Director: Pirooz Kalayeh

USA, 2023, 6,5’

Pirooz Kalayeh explores life as Edward Said, himself, and the other, seeking to connect a poetics of relation and empathy.

• Here and Not Here

Director: Andrea Luka Zimmerman

UK, 2025, 30’

A film diary captures encounters between people, place, and imagination, tracing everyday life that endures between oppression and the fragile spaces of dreams and resistance.

Talk with Andrea Luka Zimmerman, the director of Here and Not Here.

The talk will be held in English.

October 12, Sunday, 19:00

Ungrounding: The Architecture of Genocide

A conversation with Eyal Weizman (Forensic Architecture).

Moderated by Feride Eralp.

The event will be held in English with simultaneous translation into Turkish.

October 15, Wednesday, 19:00

I Have Brought You a Severed Hand: Poetry Readings

With the Palestinia-Syrian-Swedish poet Ghayath Almadhoun (Damascus/Berlin/Stockholm).

Introduced by Valérie Cachard.

Love and death poems in three languages: Arabic, Turkish and English.

October 17, Friday, 19:00

Film screenings with two films by Ghayath Almadhoun.

• Évian

2020, 7’58’’, Arabic and English.

• The Celebration

2014, 8’52’’, Arabic and English.

Co-directed with Marie Silkeberg.

Talk with Ghayath Almadhoun, the director, in Arabic and English. Registration is not required.

October 18, Saturday, 19:00

Palestine Films

All films will be screened with Turkish and English subtitles. Registration is not required.

• Artist From Gaza

Director: Gaza Biennale

Palestine, 2025, 10’

Art from Gaza becomes the first language of truth—each artist capturing essential moments of resistance by creating in the most difficult times.

• All Faces Smile At Me with Strange Eyes

Director: Shahd Alshamali

France, 2025, 3’

After surviving the war in Gaza, a man finds himself trapped between memory and exile—endlessly running toward a sea of lost belonging, where every smile in his new world hides the strangeness of displacement.

• Dirty Pictures

Director: John Smith

UK, 2007, 15’

While moving between hotels in Bethlehem and East Jerusalem, a filmmaker’s struggle with a ceiling and a camera becomes a quiet confrontation with the persistent traces of occupation and history that refuse to disappear.

• Gate of Immortals

Director: Alper Şen

UK, 2021, 9’

Methods and tactics from Guliver to the present day on the efforts and methods of convincing the visa officials who hold today’s Gate of the Immortals.

• Escape from Farida

Director: Yahya Alsholy

Palestine, 2025, 15’

As war reshapes his city, a young man seeking freedom must confront Farida, the woman he once loved, and the memories that bind him — before he can escape the ghosts of his past.

• The Land C

Director: Motasem Bani Odeh

Palestine, 2025, 6’

Two brothers cling to their ancestral olive grove, honoring their father’s vow to never abandon their land. When settler attacks claim one brother’s life, the survivor must carry on his promise.

For more detailed information:
Gaza Biennale – The Istanbul Pavilion: A Cloud in My Hand