Kut al Amara – From Tale to Truth | Documentary Film Screening & Q&A

🎬 Film Screening: Kut al Amara – From Tale to Truth

An Untold Story of World War I

This special screening is presented in collaboration between Yunus Emre Institute and Birkbeck, University of London.

🗓 Friday, 28 November 2025

🕡 Film starts promptly at 6:30 PM (Doors open at 6:00 PM)
📍 Birkbeck University Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD
🎟 Admission is free but registration is required.
🎞 Exclusive Screening: "Kut al Amara – From Tale to Truth" (w/ English subtitles)

🎤 Q&A Moderator: Koray Demir and Prof. Nezih Erdoğan

About the Film

Kut al Amara – From Tale to Truth, written and directed by Koray Demir, brings to light one of the lesser-known yet pivotal moments of World War I — the Siege of Kut. Through rare archival materials, expert insights, and a cinematic storytelling approach, the documentary revisits the events surrounding the Ottoman victory at Kut al-Amara and its long-overlooked significance in modern history.

The documentary film bridges historical narrative and visual poetry, uncovering the truths hidden beneath a century of myth-making.

After the Screening

The film will be followed by a Q&A session with director Koray Demir, moderated by Prof. Nezih Erdoğan.Together, they will explore the film’s historical context, visual language, and the process of reinterpreting collective memory through cinema.

About the Director

Koray Demir is a Turkish filmmaker and writer known for his documentaries exploring history, identity, and collective memory. With Kut al Amara – From Tale to Truth, Demir revisits one of the most overlooked episodes of World War I through a cinematic and deeply human lens, blending meticulous research with a poetic visual style.

About the Moderator

Nezih Erdogan teaches Film Theory, Film History and Storytelling at Istinye University, Istanbul. He has published articles and book chapters on colonial discourse, national identity, and sound and body in Turkish popular cinema, the reception of Hollywood in Türkiye, censorship and the distribution-exhibition of American films in Turkey. His chapter “Violent images: hybridity and excess in The Man who Saved the World” appeared in Mapping the Margins: Identity, Politics and the Media (2002). He co-edited Shifting Landscapes: Film and Media in European Context (with Miyase Christensen, 2008). His book, Adventures in Modernity and Spectatorship was published in 2017. He co-edited with Ebru Kayaalp Exploring Past Images in a Digital Age: Reinventing the Archive which recently came out from Amsterdam University Press

📢 Don’t miss this thought-provoking event—reserve your spot now!

For more information on the event, please visit Yunus Emre Enstitüsü - London’s Website: https://yeelondon.org.uk/ or email us at londra@yee.org.tr

IMPORTANT NOTES: Please note that photography and filming will take place during this event for archiving, marketing, and promotional purposes. By attending, you give your consent to Yunus Emre Institute and Birkbeck, University of London to use such images and footage in related publications, digital platforms, and promotional materials.