Conversations Across the Bosphorus

The narratives of two Muslim women from Istanbul, Gokcen and Mine, are intertwined in CONVERSATIONS ACROSS THE BOSPHORUS. Gokcen, from an orthodox Islamic family, tells her story of taking off the veil after years of struggle. Mine, from a secular family who immigrated to San Francisco ten years ago, describes the discovery of her faith in a series of letters to the filmmaker in Istanbul. Through poetic voices they demonstrate how their relationship to their faith shaped and determined their personal lives. Set on the banks of the Bosphorus, the narrow waterway that divides the Asian and European continents, CONVERSATIONS ACROSS THE BOSPHORUS suggests that the relation of personal faith to cultural and political structures is one of the most critical issues in both the Islamic and Christian worlds. In conjunction with evocative visual imagery, sound and lively debate, these narratives question the possibility of continued peaceful coexistence between groups of opposing ideologies in a relentless urban landscape.