The Palimpsest Layers of Reality, Fiction, and Visual Narrative in Pelin Esmer’s "And the Rest will Follow"

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide information about the palimpsest method and to interpret palimpsest elements through a reading of Pelin Esmer's film "And the Rest Will Follow" a work that visualizes the relationship between cinema and urban memory through its elements. By analyzing the relationship between identity, space, and memory through the film, the study paves the way for more comprehensive discussions based on the palimpsest approach in film studies. The film under study constructs a multilayered narrative by interweaving the past and present through spaces bearing traces of individual and collective memory. By integrating the space with the characters' inner worlds, it transforms it not merely into a physical backdrop but into a living archive of collective and individual memory. This multilayered structure blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction, allowing the audience to experience the city and the individual's sense of identity and makes collective memory visible. Palimpsest is a reading style that renders visible both continuity and transformation through the interweaving of historical and cultural layers. The film is examined through the lens of palimpsest methodology and the conceptual framework of palimpsest cities. As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that the place-based narrative in the film reveals the permeability between individual identity and urban memory.