Innocence of Memories

Grant Gee's latest documentary closes as it opens: a shot of Nobel prizewinner Orhan Pamuk looking out of his flat at the nighttime skyline of Istanbul - an indication that this story can never be told entirely. In 2008, Pamuk published The Museum of Innocence, in which he described the tragic love story of the affluent Kemal and his obsession, the pretty shop assistant Fusus. Four years later, Pamuk opened the doors of a real museum in Istanbul with the same name, in which he exhibited everyday effects that were in that story: socks, dresses, jewels, even hundreds of cigarette butts.
Walking through that museum is like walking through the memories of someone’s life, a feeling that Innocence of Memories also evokes. In cooperation with Pamuk, Gee approaches the story of Kemal and Fusus from a new perspective, providing an intimate documentary about tragic love, faded memories and a city that refuses to stand still.