The World of Turkish Cinema
Article by Ashley Hajimirsadeghi, photograph by Abdullah Öğük
When the Lumière Brothers showed their 1895 film L’Arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat, which is just a snapshot of a train slowly pulling into station, in Istanbul in 1896, it catalyzed Turkey’s film industry boom. Although actual filmmaking wasn’t a concept until a couple of decades later, individuals of a variety of social classes were introduced to the concept of cinema via screenings of global films.
The very first Turkish film was a documentary titled Ayastefanos'taki Rus Abidesinin Yıkılışı, or The Demolition of the Russian Monument at St. Stephen, and it was made by an army officer during World War I. An organization called the War Veterans’ Association produced many similar short films during this time period up until 1921. In 1922, an overseas Turk spurred a completely new era in Turkish cinema.
Muhsin Ertuğrul, who had been living in Germany, set up the first private film company in Turkey: Kemal Film. This company kickstarted the careers of Muslim actresses like Bedia Muhavvit and Neyyire Neyir who both appeared in the film Ateşten Gömlek/The Shirt of Flame (Muhsin Ertugrul, 1923). Up until the post-World War II period, inspiration from theatre dominated screens all across Turkey, lending itself to narratives and acting styles.
The 1950s marked a pivotal shift, once again, for the national cinema industry. In 1952 alone, Turkey produced 49 films, which was more than it had ever made in previous years combined. By the sixties, Turkey was the fifth largest national cinema industry in the world. In 1964, a film called Susuz Yaz/Dry Summer (Metin Erksan, 1964) won the top prize, the Golden Bear, at the Berlin Film Festival.
The Turkish New Wave occurred in 1970, when a film called Umut/Hope (Yılmaz Güney, 1970) came out. When Umut came out, it marked a transition to a new style of realism in the national cinema industry. However, this era (called Yeşilçam) was cut short in 1980 by the coup d’état.
Yeşilçam has partially been revived in the early 2000s when larger budgets were given to films along with an increase of resources given to filmmakers. Currently, while comedies seem to be a hit with the general public, there is an increase of avant-garde and arthouse cinema. Although Turkey has not risen to the levels of production they had during Yeşilçam, viewership is steadily increasing as is support for the national industry.
Notable Films:
Organize İşler/Magic Carpet Ride (Yılmaz Erdoğan, 2005)
A comedy film, Magic Carpet Ride is about a small gang leader who accidently recruits a suicidal comedian and Superman impersonator into his gang. When a car gets stolen, they venture into a hilarious and romantic journey that’s one for the history books.
Uzak/Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2002)
Uzak won Best Actor at Cannes Film Festival and it’s no wonder why. In this film, one of the main characters, Yusuf, has lost his job at the factory and has to move to Istanbul in order to find a job. He meets a wealthy photographer named Mahmut, who seems to truly lack a purpose in life, but wants to show Yusuf his world.
Eşkıya/The Bandit (Yavuz Turgul, 1996)
The Bandit is both a fairy tale and a realistic film; it follows a bandit named Baran. After being in jail for thirty-five years, the world around Baran has completely changed, and so he leaves his original home village for Istanbul. Searching for his lost lover and haunted by the man who has betrayed him, he wanders the city in pursuit of redemption.
Susuz Yaz/Dry Summer (Metin Erksan, 1964)
Dry Summer follows a man’s attempt to be the most competitive farmer in the area. His solution? To build a dam. This sets off a series of events—resulting from the other farmers’ ensuing anger—that quickly turns violent. This film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
