Innovation: Turkish Coffee Tales of Anatolia
Documentary Premieres in Los Angeles with the “Greatest Micro Art Show on Earth”

Note to our Wandering Educators: I'm SO pleased to share this extraordinary work from one of my very favorite people in the world, the Turkish Coffee Lady herself: Gizem Şalcıgil White. While in Turkey, she taught me about Turkish coffee..and Turkish hospitality. She's changing the world, one connection (and coffee!) at a time. 
 

The Turkish Coffee Lady Foundation, in collaboration with micro art master Hasan Kale, will be sharing the historic legacy of Turkish coffee culture with Los Angeles through their new documentary “Innovation: Turkish Coffee Tales of Anatolia” on May 20th, as part of its gastrodiplomacy initiative. 

Foundation's president Gizem Şalcıgil White and artist Hasan Kale travelled to eight different cities in Turkey for the project, each with their own distinct flavor of Turkish coffee culture. The aim of the documentary is to establish cultural bridges between not only each of these societies but also with a Western audience through the display of centuries-old coffee traditions across the vast lands of Anatolia.

8 Cities, 8 Coffee Cultures

The documentary is composed of special shootings featuring “dibek coffee” in Mardin, “mirra coffee” in Şanlıurfa, “menengiç coffee” in Gaziantep, “saffron coffee” in Karabük, “coffee brewed on ash” in Nevşehir, “coffee brewed on sand” in Ankara, “mastic coffee” in İzmir, and “traditional coffee” in İstanbul. Aiming to raise awareness about the historical importance of Turkish coffee as the world's first coffee brewing method, the film depicts each of these cultural touchstones in a journey across Turkey, accompanied by cultural presentations by renowned Turkish micro artist Hasan Kale. 

There have already been two pre-screening events, one at the Turkish Ambassador’s Residence in Washington D.C., and the other at the Turkish Consulate General in New York. However, this special Los Angeles viewing at the Turkish Consul General’s Residence on May 20th will be the documentary’s first premiere in 2022 before it goes to the ATASC’s Turkish Festival on May 22nd at the Long Beach and House of Turkey in San Diego between May 24th-25th.

The Greatest Micro Art Show on Earth

Hasan Kale, known as Turkey's “Microangelo,” is creating a new language of art with his miniature paintings, which aim to increase awareness of Turkish coffee culture abroad. In addition to creating coffee-based paintings across the documentary’s journey through Turkey, Kale will also be showcasing tiny masterpieces and unique designs through a live demonstration of his process at the premiere. In the documentary, he and his co-star, Gastrodiplomacy Expert Gizem Şalcıgil White, will be sharing their “mutual love for coffee with Americans, while explaning how coffee and coffee house culture spread from Istanbul to Europe in the 16th century and then to the rest of world.”

“Turks gave coffee a unique identity with their preparation, cooking and presentation methods,” she added, expressing her excitement at the documentary’s release. 

Turkish Coffee: 500 Years of Cultural Heritage Uniting Communities

The Turkish Coffee Lady Foundation, designed to increase awareness of how Turkish coffee changed the world 500 years ago, is built on the goal of promoting Turkey's rich cultural heritage by bringing coffee-loving societies closer. To reflect this, the event in Los Angeles will include a Turkish coffee tasting session, offering a unique coffee experience to attendees while establishing a cultural dialogue between American and Turkish communities “over coffee.”

The project is sponsored by Arzum OKKA, Turkish Airlines, Kütahya Porselen, and Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities. The documentary was prepared in cooperation with CinecFilm, Brokoli Production, and Karen Production. Chairman of the board for Arzum, Murat Kolbaşı, is thrilled that “the viewers of the documentary, which shows that Turkish coffee was the first method of coffee making in history and changed the world 600 years ago, will get to know this important culture better.”

He added, “As Arzum we have been trying to spread Turkish coffee culture, which is listed in UNESCO’s ‘Intangible Culture Heritage List’. We are bringing our unique taste to an international community by organizing events in different countries, especially in U.S. I sincerely believe that this documentary, a product of meticulous work, will attract great attention in the countries that it will be screened [in] as a part of the world tour. Moreover, as Arzum OKKA, we are more than happy to do our part in this beautiful journey.”

For more information and a calendar of events, please visit:
www.turkishcoffeelady.org 
Instagram: @turkishcoffeelady @turkishcoffeetales