Elif Dizdaroğlu

A portrait of İlhan Usmanbaş, one of the most radical pioneers of contemporary music in Turkey. Through handwritten scores, personal archives, fragmented memories and experimental imagery, the film explores a century-long devotion to musical freedom, modernism and the relentless pursuit of new sounds. An intimate encounter with a composer who never stopped questioning the boundaries of music.

The hundreds of letters left behind after Latif Demirci's passing describe not only a illustrator's fanbase, but the troubles and dreams of a certain era in Turkey, and a human spirit naive enough to confide in a cartoon hero. While the documentary traces the loss between the slowness of the letter and today's culture of speed, it puts forth a very original portrait of the artist, highlighted by the contributions of his filmmaker daughter Yasemin Demirci, his artistic partner Behiç Pek, and comic book historian Levent Cantek.

Brought to life from the outtakes of director Deniz Yüksel’s long-running Lale Müldür documentary, "Lale Müldür and All the Nightclubs of Istanbul" brings to light a memory of the poet alongside a previously unpublished piece of her writing. The music for the documentary, edited for Postbellek, was produced by Atonal Sounds.

In an age where silence is complicity, Muslimgauze: Electronic Intifada resurrects the haunting pulse of Bryn Jones—the Manchester-born musician who devoted his entire life to the Palestinian struggle without ever setting foot in the Middle East. Through the voices of his publisher and best friend, Geert-Jan Hobijn, Turkish musician Ekin Fil, and Turkish author Şule Demirtaş, the film traces Jones’s obsessive solitude and commitment in the studio, where he crafted a sonic battlefield of noise, resistance, and distortion. Postbellek's short documentary Muslimgauze: Electronic Intifada unfolds where the political collides with the artistic—a visual translation of noise into awakening. Confronting the uneasy intersections of politics, art, and representation, it is not a eulogy but a provocation: a reminder that resistance can echo louder than words—and sometimes, from the most unexpected corners of the world.

A live documentary experience built around archival footage of the 90s psychedelic band ZeN and their 1996 concert at Cihangir Park. Directed by Elif Dizdaroğlu, the event evolved into a layered performance through Murat Ertel’s improvised talk and music. Blending archival footage with live Q&A and performance, the night collapsed the distance between past and present audiences. Now available on Postbellek, the project became a collective trip back into the spirit of the 90s.

A collection of 8mm film reels from İlhan Mimaroğlu’s archive—once tucked away in whisky boxes—has found new life through art. Curated by director Serdar Kökçeoğlu and producer Dilek Aydın, the project brings together visual artists and musicians to reimagine these long-lost images. Over thirty artists transformed the footage into fifteen distinct audiovisual pieces, blending experimental soundscapes with contemporary video art. The project concludes with a special highlight: the first-ever screening of Mimaroğlu’s silent short film about a street jazz festival, accompanied by Erdem Helvacıoğlu’s dark jazz score.

A portrait of İlhan Usmanbaş, one of the most radical pioneers of contemporary music in Turkey. Through handwritten scores, personal archives, fragmented memories and experimental imagery, the film explores a century-long devotion to musical freedom, modernism and the relentless pursuit of new sounds. An intimate encounter with a composer who never stopped questioning the boundaries of music.

The hundreds of letters left behind after Latif Demirci's passing describe not only a illustrator's fanbase, but the troubles and dreams of a certain era in Turkey, and a human spirit naive enough to confide in a cartoon hero. While the documentary traces the loss between the slowness of the letter and today's culture of speed, it puts forth a very original portrait of the artist, highlighted by the contributions of his filmmaker daughter Yasemin Demirci, his artistic partner Behiç Pek, and comic book historian Levent Cantek.

Brought to life from the outtakes of director Deniz Yüksel’s long-running Lale Müldür documentary, "Lale Müldür and All the Nightclubs of Istanbul" brings to light a memory of the poet alongside a previously unpublished piece of her writing. The music for the documentary, edited for Postbellek, was produced by Atonal Sounds.

In an age where silence is complicity, Muslimgauze: Electronic Intifada resurrects the haunting pulse of Bryn Jones—the Manchester-born musician who devoted his entire life to the Palestinian struggle without ever setting foot in the Middle East. Through the voices of his publisher and best friend, Geert-Jan Hobijn, Turkish musician Ekin Fil, and Turkish author Şule Demirtaş, the film traces Jones’s obsessive solitude and commitment in the studio, where he crafted a sonic battlefield of noise, resistance, and distortion. Postbellek's short documentary Muslimgauze: Electronic Intifada unfolds where the political collides with the artistic—a visual translation of noise into awakening. Confronting the uneasy intersections of politics, art, and representation, it is not a eulogy but a provocation: a reminder that resistance can echo louder than words—and sometimes, from the most unexpected corners of the world.

A live documentary experience built around archival footage of the 90s psychedelic band ZeN and their 1996 concert at Cihangir Park. Directed by Elif Dizdaroğlu, the event evolved into a layered performance through Murat Ertel’s improvised talk and music. Blending archival footage with live Q&A and performance, the night collapsed the distance between past and present audiences. Now available on Postbellek, the project became a collective trip back into the spirit of the 90s.

A live documentary experience built around archival footage of the 90s psychedelic band ZeN and their 1996 concert at Cihangir Park. Directed by Elif Dizdaroğlu, the event evolved into a layered performance through Murat Ertel’s improvised talk and music. Blending archival footage with live Q&A and performance, the night collapsed the distance between past and present audiences. Now available on Postbellek, the project became a collective trip back into the spirit of the 90s.

A collection of 8mm film reels from İlhan Mimaroğlu’s archive—once tucked away in whisky boxes—has found new life through art. Curated by director Serdar Kökçeoğlu and producer Dilek Aydın, the project brings together visual artists and musicians to reimagine these long-lost images. Over thirty artists transformed the footage into fifteen distinct audiovisual pieces, blending experimental soundscapes with contemporary video art. The project concludes with a special highlight: the first-ever screening of Mimaroğlu’s silent short film about a street jazz festival, accompanied by Erdem Helvacıoğlu’s dark jazz score.

To speak of jazz in Turkey is to speak of Kerem Görsev. In this intimate short documentary, director Levent Türkan sits down with the maestro to unravel İstanbul’s profound impact on his art. Together, they explore his hidden inspirations and the true musical pulse of the city. A deeply personal journey into the soul of Kerem Görsev, the essence of jazz, and the beating heart of İstanbul.

In the late 1960s, Istanbul was the eastern gateway of the hippie trail to Kathmandu. The cheap hotels of Sultanahmet and the tables of the Pudding Shop were crowded with travelers from all over the world. Among them lived a local legend: Hippie Perihan. Having run away from Izmir at seventeen, Perihan lived her life as an experiment, in a society where a young woman's freedom to choose for herself came at a cost. Crowned "Queen of the Hippies" for the way she danced and laughed without restraint, she was found dead in a hotel room at nineteen. After her death, the press demeaned her, popular cinema rewrote her story, and a woman who claimed to speak with spirits began to speak in her name. Made entirely in a pixel-game aesthetic, this animation is a tribute to one of the most talked-about yet least-known cult female figures in Turkish history. It is also an experiment in how many times a woman's life can be rewritten in the memories of others. (Labocine)

In the late 1960s, Istanbul was the eastern gateway of the hippie trail to Kathmandu. The cheap hotels of Sultanahmet and the tables of the Pudding Shop were crowded with travelers from all over the world. Among them lived a local legend: Hippie Perihan. Having run away from Izmir at seventeen, Perihan lived her life as an experiment, in a society where a young woman's freedom to choose for herself came at a cost. Crowned "Queen of the Hippies" for the way she danced and laughed without restraint, she was found dead in a hotel room at nineteen. After her death, the press demeaned her, popular cinema rewrote her story, and a woman who claimed to speak with spirits began to speak in her name. Made entirely in a pixel-game aesthetic, this animation is a tribute to one of the most talked-about yet least-known cult female figures in Turkish history. It is also an experiment in how many times a woman's life can be rewritten in the memories of others. (Labocine)

An archival biography in three chapters, exploring the revolutionary potential of being a cinephile... A war pilot, a radical revolutionary, and a cinephile... This is the portrait of a man who left the army and built a successful career as businessman in Europe. Only a few people knew that he was also an undercover member of the resistance movement against Turkey’s military regime in early 1970s. Mekin Gönenç later dedicated most of his life to the movies. When he died after suffering a heart attack while swimming in 2011, he left behind thousands of VHS tapes and meticulously crafted home-made film journals. His death between the two blues he cherished most—the sea and the sky— now give some consolation to his wife. Through archives, we trace the journey of a 20th-century romantic. (DokuFest, Balkan Dox, 2025 )

We take a closer look at Istanbul’s cats, their history, and their place in civilization during a short tour of the Cihangir neighborhood with Gündüz Vassaf, the author of The Cat in Istanbul.

It may look like a Labubu unboxing, but it is actually an unpacking of socioeconomic trends...