65 KV, HOW SAILED THE BOAT OF CREED

65 KV, 1973
Türkiye | Animation, 4’
Director: Cemal Erez
Shot in 16 mm as Cemal Erez’s graduation project at the Academy of Fine Arts, KV 65 is one of the artist’s earliest works in animation cinema.

The film follows a worker who, even on his day off, cannot stray from the paths dictated by the established order. When the worker chooses Route A instead of the assigned Route B and discards the key that controls him, he defies the system, but once this deviation is detected, the system eliminates him. Merging painting and cinematic language through animation, Erez addresses the conditioning of the individual within the system and the cost of rebellion in a rhythmic, graphic style. Awarded the “Grand Prize” at the 1974 Hisar Short Film Competition, the film stands as an early and significant example of animation cinema in Türkiye.

HOW SAILED THE BOAT OF CREED (AMNETÜ GEMİSİ NASIL YÜRÜDÜ), 1969
Turkiye | Animation, 3’
Director: Tonguç Yaşar
One of the pioneering examples of animation cinema in Türkiye, the film draws on the traditional calligraphic paintings known as “Boat of Creed,” in which animal figures are formed from Arabic letters. The letters composing the ship and the repeating “vav”s serving as oars are set in motion through animation. Bringing calligraphy and cinema together, the work revives a visual and symbolic language inherited from the past with a contemporary interpretation.

For the Thursday screening of this film, visitors can collect their tickets at the museum desk on the day of the screening. Tickets are free for residents of Türkiye.