Director and musician Anıl Eraslan embarks on an exploration of improvisational music and the artists who perform it in his first feature documentary, Sound Dreams of İstanbul. A composer and cellist who also works in the field of improvisation, Eraslan draws on a dream as the starting point of the film, tuning in simultaneously to the music, the musicians, and the city itself. The performative nature of music becomes an essential part of the film, while also revealing how musicians relate to sound, to the city, and to their dreams.

Inviting its audience to view İstanbul’s chaotic, noisy, and fragmented life from a fresh perspective, Sound Dreams of İstanbul follows artists as they make music in different corners of the city. Suspended between dream and reality, the film allows us to hear this ancient city anew through the world of avant-garde musicians.