Empires on Screen: Colonial History and Cinema

Directorate of the Institute of Film and Media Studies
First Published: Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Last Update: Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Boğaziçi University’s Institute of Film and Media Studies inaugurates the 2025–2026 academic year with a timely and urgent exploration of colonial history and its cinematic representations, at a moment when the global order continues to be shaped by the violent structures of neo-colonialism.

The October 2025 film screening program, “Empires on Screen: Colonial History and Cinema,” examines the enduring legacies, suppressed voices, and contested narratives of imperial expansion and resistance. Spanning continents and centuries—from the early phases of European conquest in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australia to 20th-century independence struggles—the films invite viewers to interrogate how cinema constructs, critiques, and complicates our understanding of empire. Far from treating colonialism as a distant historical event, the program foregrounds its psychological, material, and cultural residues in the postcolonial present.

The selected films range from canonical epic dramas such as David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and A Passage to India (1984), to politically charged works of anti-colonial cinema like Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers (1966), Ousmane Sembène’s Emitaï (1971), and Moustapha Akkad’s Lion of the Desert (1980). Films like Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent (2015) and Lucrecia Martel’s Zama (2017) dismantle the colonizer’s gaze by shifting the narrative focus to Indigenous cosmologies and disoriented colonial functionaries. Meanwhile, titles such as Out of Africa (1985), Chocolat (1988), Indochine (1992), and Australia (2008) explore how personal memory and imperial nostalgia converge, especially through the perspectives of European women embedded within colonial hierarchies. This curatorial juxtaposition underscores the ideological tensions within empire-themed cinema—between spectacle and critique, complicity, and resistance.

Together, these films form a dense mosaic of aesthetic strategies and geopolitical perspectives on colonial power and its afterlives. From missionary expeditions and resource extraction to anti-imperial uprisings and post-independence reckonings, the series demonstrates cinema’s unique capacity to stage colonial history not merely as visual spectacle, but as a site of memory, trauma, and political engagement. With this expansive and thought-provoking program, the Institute invites students, scholars, and cinephiles alike to critically engage with the cinematic legacies of empire—and to consider how visual culture continues to mediate histories of domination, erasure, survival, and decolonization.

Tue, Oct 7, 2025, 18:00
The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)

Wed, Oct 8, 2025, 18:00
Zama (Lucrecia Martel, 2017)

Thu, Oct 9, 2025, 18:00
Aguirre, the Wrath of God | Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (Werner Herzog, 1972)

Fri, Oct 10, 2025, 18:00
Chocolat (Claire Denis, 1988)

Mon, Oct 13, 2025, 18:00
Indochine (Régis Wargnier, 1992)

Tue, Oct 14, 2025, 18:00
Black Robe (Bruce Beresford, 1991)

Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 18:00
Lion of the Desert (Moustapha Akkad, 1980)

Thu, Oct 16, 2025, 18:00
A Passage to India (David Lean, 1984)

Fri, Oct 17, 2025, 18:00
Out of Africa (Sydney Pollack, 1985)

Mon, Oct 20, 2025, 18:00
The Battle of Algiers | La battaglia di Algeri (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966)

Tue, Oct 21, 2025, 18:00
The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957)

Wed, Oct 22, 2025, 18:00
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 18:00
Embrace of the Serpent | El abrazo de la serpiente (Ciro Guerra, 2015)

Fri, Oct 24, 2025, 18:00
Emitaï (Ousmane Sembene, 1971)

Mon, Oct 27, 2025, 18:00
Gandhi (Richard Attenborough, 1982)

Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 18:00
The Mission (Roland Joffé, 1986)

Fri, Oct 31, 2025, 18:00
Australia (Baz Luhrmann, 2008)

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Tue, Wed & Thu
18:00
Mithat Alam Hall (Open: Monday to Friday, 9:00–19:00, screening days 9:00–21:00)
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For Students (Open to External Students)
Free Admission (Registration Required for Each Event)
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Follow us on Instagram @ifms.filmscreenings for weekly event registration forms and updates.
For questions or further information, contact us at filmscreenings@bogazici.edu.tr
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Copyright & Fair Use Disclaimer: The film screenings at the IFMS Mithat Alam Hall on our university campus are conducted exclusively for educational purposes, with no commercial intent. This educational use complies with the “fair use” provisions established under national and international copyright laws and treaties. Both domestic and international laws governing copyright exceptions for education and research—including the Turkish Copyright Law (The Intellectual and Artistic Works Act 1951, No. 5846, Article 33), the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Article 10/2), the TRIPS Agreement (Article 13), the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT, Article 10), and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT, Article 16)—explicitly permit the screening of cinematic works within educational institutions, provided there is no financial gain involved. Our screenings are strictly for educational purposes and fully adhere to these legal frameworks. Admission is free of charge and open exclusively to students. However, external attendees may also join, provided they present a valid student ID card at the South Campus entrance. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in maintaining the educational integrity of these screenings.

Etkinlik Başlığı:

Empires on Screen: Colonial History and Cinema

Etkinlik Türü:

Aylık Film Gösterim Programı

Yer:

Mithat Alam Hall, Güney Kampüs

Tarih ve Saat:

Salı, Ekim 7, 2025 - 18:00