Hey ardent readers…! This time, I have a little surprise for you, if you were expecting to find another film review. After having written about several of the successful films of Ferzan Özpetek last week, I again started to feel confused about the situation in Turkey, concerning the movie industry. Instead of writing my reviews about a current movie, I decided to share my thoughts about why the Turkish movie industry is having a hard time developing. In other words, why can’t we go further metaphorically- in the mystic flow of the movie world?
Whenever I watch a successful movie by a Turkish director, I always feel the enthusiasm flowing through my veins as a Turk. Why not ha? Since we are new and not that experienced in this area (movie industry), having another small step forward, makes me more excited and feel proud, as if I have directed the movie. Rarely do these small happinesses occur, so it is not unusual that we ask ourselves, why is this the case?
According to me, when considered, this is a difficult and complex question. Besides our leading directors abroad like Nuri Bilge Ceylan or Ferzan Özpetek, we also have directors in our own country who keep making movies. In general, as you all know, most of these movies are forgotten after a few days of their release and then you keep asking yourself, why? Unfortunately there is a reality that this is caused by, the director and the audience. I believe that most of our directors are not selective and audience conscious in their movie making.
They get very excited about making the film, and in doing so, they forget most of the important details of the movie, like working on a good scenario and searching for an experienced cast. In other words, the main reason behind movie making gets diverted from the artistic aim, which expectedly results in a lack of artistic content for most of our movies. In addition to this, the other side of the coin tells us that the audience in Turkey might be prejudiced about Turkish films and directors. This is a completely true approach because it is obvious that we are under the effect of Hollywood movies and seeing a similar approach from Turkish directors mostly makes us laugh rather than appreciating what they did. For instance, imagine that one of our directors is making a horror movie. I really wonder how many of you would not say “Hehehe, horror? Oh come on! That sounds really fun.” If I were a director, I believe that would be a strong barrier against my enthusiasm. Actually, you may not be thinking this way but guys trust me, I have seen so many people thinking just so. Although it seems hard to believe, there is a reality that our movie industry is still in it’s developing process and, in my opinion, needs to be supported as much as possible.

Atilla Karakurum (IE/III)