SOUND DREAMS OF ISTANBUL

Sound Dreams of Istanbul
by Anıl Eraslan
2025, Turkey, 70 minutes, Turkish w/ English subtitles

Inspired by a dream, Anıl Eraslan sets out to make a documentary about Istanbul’s free improvisation music scene. Featuring his musician friends who are invited to recite their sonic dreams and stage them as musical performances,the film evolves into a phantasmagoric portrait of Istanbul, shifting between dream and reality.

This is not simply a screening, but a cineconcert- after the film, we will journey through the narration with as the featured musicians will take over the stage and play live.

Anıl Eraslan – director, improviser (cello)
Cellist, composer and improviser Anil Eraslan is working in various musical projects in between Berlin, Strasbourg and Istanbul. From Anatolian traditional music to experimental/noise/free music, he multiplies his experiences with many ensembles and creative musicians from all over the world. As a filmmaker, he just finalized his first feature documentary film Sound Dreams of Istanbul on the free improvisation scene in Istanbul. WORM thought it would be a good idea to invite him personally to talk about the film (do not fear, it won’t take too long) and to also invite a few musicians that play in the film, and let them play a set afterwards.

Oğuz Büyükberber – improviser clarinetist, present in the film
Award winning clarinetist composer Oğuz Büyükberber’s wide ranging work could be heard on over 60 CDs full of original music for acoustic and electronic formations. His visual impairment has shaped the way he learns, creates and teaches, and as a life long student, he studied bass clarinet, composition, electronic music and visual arts and holds multiple degrees. He has published a book of his own approach to composition and improvisation, recorded for ECM and Blue Note, was invited to prestigious residencies such as the EMS, Erica Synths HQ, STEIM and taught at universities worldwide.

İpek Odabaşı – improviser, co-founder of Berlin’s richten25_space and of A.I.D. collective, present in the film
İpek Odabaşı is an Istanbul-born, Berlin-based noise maker, sound artist, experimental DJ, and curator. Her practice centers on experimental music, including noise and improvised performance, where samples and field recordings are combined with live sound created using various hardware. She is a co-founder of the artist-run project space Richten25, co-curator of the Neu Berlin Institute of Improvised Music series, one of the bookers at B.L.O. Ateliers – Kantine, and co-founder and coordinator of the A.I.D concert series.

Ege Şahin – improviser, organizer at WORM
Ege Şahin (b.1996, Turkey) is an experimental composer and improviser based in the Hague, working across experimental music and sound studies with sensitivity to perception, participation, and metaphysics. His work draws on rational tunings, feedback, noise, and field recordings—using guitar, computer, found objects, and audience’s mobile phones in performances, recordings, and installations. He is co-founder of the independent music label Rubber Commune, a co-curator of the improvised concert series Electric Umbrella in WORM Rotterdam, and is a research associate at the Institute of Sonology.

Click here to watch the offical trailer!

In cooperation with North Sea Round Town

Cineville valid at the door and online the day of the screening!