Asta Nielsen Filmvorführungen in Istanbul

Abstract

Audiences in Ottoman Istanbul first had the opportunity to watch films in 1896, after the first public film screenings circulated in the world. As a result of the implications of the Ottoman–German alliance on cultural life during World War I, documentary and feature-length films that were produced in and about the German Empire, including the films of Asta Nielsen, were screened at movie theaters in Istanbul. Although there are studies which deal with the screening of Asta Nielsen films in Europe and some parts of Asia, no study has been conducted yet on the prevalence and recognition of these films in the Ottoman Empire. This article, which aims to fill this gap, focuses on the reception of Asta Nielsen’s female characters through her two prominent films. The article evaluates the interest shown in and the comments made about Nielsen’s films, as she represented a new type of woman in the film community during her time. This article also discussed and problematizes female roles and the historical status of female spectators in Istanbul in relation to these female images. The influence of the images of modern women portrayed by Asta Nielsen on female spectators at a time when the public presence and visibility of women began to be discussed in the Ottoman Empire and the experience of female spectators who went to the movies at Péra in relation to these images give important clues about the place of cinema in the process of secularization. Therefore, the article contributes to the monography of Asta Nielsen and Ottoman/German cinema and cultural history with a focus on the screening and reception of Asta Nielsen films at Péra.