(Imre Azem, TUR/DE, 2011)

Best cathegorized as urban horror, this 90-minute film shows us how Istanbul has become a city without limits, still continuing to expand uncontrollably.

Aren't we all familiar with the chat we all once took part in: “Oh, Amsterdam is not the way it used to be”? We are all aware of the rapid changes Amsterdam is undergoing: the city is fully in process of commercializing, people with low incomes are pushed away to the perifery of Amsterdam, leaving the city centre to big capital investors. From this perspective, 'Ekumenepolis: City Without Limits' is topical for all of us living in the city of Amsterdam. The film tells the story of Istanbul on a neo-liberal course to destruction. It follows the story of a migrant family from the demolition of their neighborhood to their on-going struggle for housing rights. The film takes a look at the city on a macro level and through the eyes of experts, going from the tops of mushrooming skyscrapers to the depths of the railway tunnel under the Bosphorous strait; from the historic neighborhoods in the south to the forests in the north. It's an Istanbul going from 15 million to 30 million. It's an Istanbul going from 2 million cars to 8 million. It's the Istanbul of the future that will soon engulf the entire region. It's an Istanbul you have never seen before.