BEYOND THE FESTIVAL: THE ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVAL AND THE AUDIENCE OF KADIKÖY CINEMA

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between the Istanbul Film Festival (IFF) and the audience of Kadıköy Cinema, Istanbul’s only privately-owned arthouse venue. It examines how Kadıköy Cinema sustains cinephile identities beyond the temporal boundaries of festivals and how its programming echoes the curatorial logic of the IFF. Drawing on survey data from 237 participants and 17 in-depth interviews, the research provides insight into the sociocultural dynamics of contemporary urban cinephilia in Istanbul. Findings reveal that the audience is predominantly young and highly educated, aligned with new middle-class cultural orientations shaped by education, aesthetic taste, and symbolic distinction. Despite rising digital film consumption, cinema-going remains a meaningful practice, particularly among audiences seeking symbolic value, prestige, and spatial belonging. The article also discusses how economic precarity and class distinctions shape access to film festivals. It further examines how venues like Kadıköy Cinema function as spaces of cultural memory and alternative public spaces. Using Bourdieu’s theoretical framework, the study argues that festival-oriented spectatorship is not only about film preference but also about identity formation, cultural distinction, and symbolic participation. Kadıköy Cinema emerges as a unique venue where the cultural practices and tastes shaped through film festivals are sustained, recontextualized, and integrated into everyday urban film culture.