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 "The New Millennium Project: Short Plays After 9/11" featuring Shida Pegahi in Gita Khashabi's "Chadoor" as seen in the L.A.Times and American Theatre Magazine |
 "Iran Then and Now" featuring Terence Ward, author of Searching for Hassan as seen in the L.A. Times |
The Mecidiye Mosque at Ortaköy, on the Bosporus
T U R K E Y, E A S T OR W E S T?
Saturday, April 19, 3 pm @ LACMAJoin Levantine Cultural Center, G.R.I.T. (Girls Reeling It Together) and fans of Los Anglees County Museum of Art for an exclusive screening of the award-winning documentary, "Searching for Paradise," and public dialogue with filmaker Binnur Karaevli, author Alev Lytle Croutier, Mediterannean and Turkey expert Dr. Ian Lesser, in a discussion moderated by Gloria Goodale of the Christian Science Monitor, and introduced by a celebrity host, to be announced.
LACMA’S BING THEATRE, APRIL 19, 3 pm. Followed by Open-Bar Reception. All welcome.
Poised at the edge of the Levant (Near East) and Europe simultaneously, Turkey has been in the news not only because of its drive to become a member of the European Union, but because the Bush Administration requested Turkey's assent in its war on Iraq.
"Searching for Paradise," the 2002 WinFemme and Moondance festivals’ winner for best documentary, is a lyrical personal account of the filmmaker’s search for the lost symbols of a distant and dreamy childhood and through it the reconciliation of Western education and Eastern traditional heritage, self-identity and family ties.
Shot primarily in Istanbul and Los Angeles, the film weaves a rich tapestry of history, people and images, offering a look at the culture of Turkey, Turkish-American relationships, and the real and perceived dichotomy between east and west.
Says Karaevli, who makes Los Angeles her home, “What distinguishes Turkey is that only once we’re able to embrace our past can we live our present, as the only Muslim nation with democracy and western values. Right now, Turkey is a bridge between the east and the west but Turks are caught on the bridge—they haven’t left the east, they haven’t gone to the west, either. It’s like we are living on the bridge itself.”
Binnur Karaevli was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. She started a theatre company in Istanbul when she was fifteen and produced and directed several new plays. Karaevli studied Drama at Carnegie-Mellon University and started her career as a theatre director. In 1991, she founded the "Platform," an acclaimed political cabaret at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. She attended USC Film School's MFA Film Production Program and graduated in 1996. Her short films, "Dance of the Whirling Dervish" and "Evelyn of the Desert" received top awards from several festivals including Nürnberg International Film Festival, Germany; New Orleans International Film Festival; and the Istanbul International Film Festival. Her documentary, "Searching for Paradise" won the Best Documentary award at the Moondance International Film Festival in January 2002 and the Best Documentary Award at WinFemme Film Festival in September 2002. Karevli is an artist member of Levantine Cultural Center.
Dr. Lesser is Vice President, Director of Studies at the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles. He came to the Council from RAND, where he was a senior political scientist specializing in international policy and Mediterranean affairs. In 1994-95 he was a member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, where his responsibilities included southern Europe, Turkey, North Africa and the multilateral track of the Middle East peace process. Earlier in his career he was deputy director of the Political-Military Studies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; senior fellow at the Atlantic Council; and staff consultant at International Energy Associates. His recent publications include Turkish Foreign Policy in an Age of Uncertainty (2003); NATO Looks South (2000); Countering the New Terrorism (1999); and A Sense of Siege: The Geopolitics of Islam and the West. He is a frequent commentator for television, radio and print media.
Turkish-born writer Alev Lytle Croutier (click here for full bio), who lives in Paris and San Francisco, is the author of several books, including the memoir Harem: The World Behind the Veil, and the recent novel Seven Houses. A former publisher and founder of Mercury House, Croutier is on the Advisory Board of Levantine Cultural Center.
Gloria Goodale, the Arts and Culture correspondant of the Christian Science Monitor, will moderate the panel. A graduate of both Stanford University and the Drama Studio in London, she began her career as a journalist in the Monitor's newsroom in Boston. She moved west in 1986 to open the west coast bureau of the newspaper's public radio program, MonitoRadio. After several years of reporting on everything from LA gangs, to immigration rights as well as David Hockney and Hollywood, she moved to "World Monitor," the Monitor's hour-long news show on The Discovery Channel. While there, she covered Mexican elections, prison reform as well as trends in the entertainment industry. In 1992, she moved to the local CBS radio affiliate in 1992, where
she covered Johnny Carson's last day on the job as well as Gray Davis's first. Gloria returned to the newspaper in 1996, where she has been since.
"Turkey, East or West" will be presented by a celebrity host, TBA. It will be followed by an open-bar reception.
This event is cosponsored by G.R.I.T., Girls Reeling It Together.
Turkey East or West, a screening and dialogue, takes place April 19, 3 pm, at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Bing Auditorium, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, L.A. 90036. Tickets are $6.
RSVP to 323.650.7010. Organized by Levantine Cultural Center and cosponsored by Kaya & Mary Tuncer of Global Friendship Through Space Education.
For interviews with participants, photos, or an advance screening copy of “Searching for Paradise,” contact Binnur Karaevli, Tel: 310.849.1531.
Read the recent L.A. Times feature about us.
Levantine Cultural Center welcomes you to join us in exploration, debate and friendship!
What do we mean when we say Levantine? Who is our audience? An alternative to FAQs.
Read about the latest issue of Al Jadid, a national quarterly devoted to Arab arts and cultures.
