“Korkut Ata Turkish World Film Festival”, which will be held within the scope of “Beyoğlu Culture Road Festival” organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for the first time this year, is getting ready to meet with moviegoers.
The festival, which will be held in Istanbul for the first time this year, will host over 13 filmmakers, actors and cultural people with 42 films from 100 countries.
Speaking at the press conference at Atlas 1948 Cinema, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said, “As you know, with the opening of Istanbul AKM on the 29th anniversary of our Republic on October 98, we started the 17-day Beyoğlu Culture Road Festival. This organization, which is Turkey's largest and most comprehensive culture and arts event ever held, has a content and richness that can be truly described as a festival within a festival. 'Korkut Ata Turkish World Film Festival' is one of the most valuable examples of this. Independent of the Beyoğlu Culture Road Festival, it is a serious cultural and artistic step towards the future that represents a very wide geography.” said.
Ersoy stated that they are excited to realize a cinema festival under the name of Korkut Ata, the source of the stories that have been told and the lessons, teachings and knowledge that will never go away as long as the Turkish world exists, and continued as follows:
“Korkut Ata will be an art and result-oriented collaboration where we will bring the Turkish world's presence in cinema to the screen with its widest scope, where we will discuss, exchange ideas and try to determine a roadmap to produce joint projects. At the same time, it is the most comprehensive film festival where fictional and documentary productions from Turkic republics and communities will compete. I hope and believe that we are taking the first step that will open the door to new reflections on the cinema screen for the Turkish world, which has a wealth of richness to tell from its epic and legends to its history and mythology, as well as a different perspective coming from its culture, and deep-rooted knowledge and experience to share. We will add more to that as we work together.”
“As the Turkish world, we wish to be together in art, as in every field, and to move forward together”
Pointing out that Korkut Ata Turkish World Film Festival is the unity of a tradition that connects the common past with history, culture and geography, Minister Ersoy said, “It is because of him that we have chosen our symbol as the Crane Bird. I think that this unique motif, which is the language and messenger of the hearts, brings the distances closer, and represents being together and independent from distances, has been the right choice to reflect our goals and objectives. Because, as the Turkish world, we wish to be together in art, as in every field, and to travel together. On the other hand, a very appropriate visual was chosen for the concept of art with its aesthetics and elegance.” used the phrases.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that a total of 13 countries, including Turkey, and autonomous republics will come together under the roof of the art of cinema at the festival, and said:
“The said participants are Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Hungary, Sakha Republic, Tatarstan, Gagauzia, Iran, Ukraine and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. We will be the voice of such a great geography in the cinema. In this context, we will be hosting over 100 high-level guests, from ministers to directors of cinema companies, actors and directors. We have 42 films to be screened as part of the festival. A carefully selected selection consisting of fiction, documentary, animation and Cengiz Aytmatov film adaptations has been prepared. There will also be a competition section of our festival. A total of 6 awards will find their owners in the fiction and documentary categories. Apart from these, we will give an honorary award and 5 of our institutions will be rewarded for their contributions to the television and cinema sector in the Turkish world.”
Stating that the festival films will meet with the audience free of charge at Atlas 8 and Emek Cinemas, Tarık Zafer Tunaya Cultural Center and Istanbul University Pocket Cinema between 12-1948 November, Ersoy said, “Of course, our aim is not limited to bringing today's productions to wider audiences. We also wish to take the steps that will guide the art of cinema of the future for the Turkish world and many works that will come to life under the roof of this art. In this direction, we will hold the first of the 'Turkish World Cinema Summit' on 11 November. In addition, our Istanbul Cinema Museum will host a reception on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Kyrgyz cinema on November 80, and Uzbek Day events on November 11. A festival full of participation, content and activity awaits us. For those who are curious about the details, I would like to share with you and our people the information that all the details can be accessed at the 'korkutatafilmfestivali.com' internet address.” he said.
“The changes we made in the cinema law have opened all the ways for Turkey to become a cinema country”
Minister Ersoy drew attention to the importance of cinema in cultural diplomacy and made the following evaluations:
“As you know, diplomacy is a concept with sub-branches that operate differently. One of these branches, cultural diplomacy is basically aimed at creating the perception of the country in the most accurate way, and delivering real information to the masses at first hand on the desired topics through cultural elements. Perhaps the most important thing is to be able to do all these in a way that will enable people to listen to, follow and accept the information given, and at least create a tendency to research and listen to the opposites of known discourses by undermining prejudices. The power of art in achieving this is so great that it arouses astonishment and admiration.
'Is art for art? Or is art for man?' I leave the discussion to the experts. However, it is not possible to ignore the effect of art on people. If art is effective in reaching the right information, it is important to take it seriously and use it. The world and humanity need to be able to see from all sides, not from one eye and one point, but from a thousand and one perspectives. At this point, the Turkish world has a lot to say, a lot of knowledge and wealth to share with humanity. It is possible to deliver these to desired audiences through cinema and art in general. Nevertheless, it is unthinkable to ignore such a powerful and valuable field.
When we look at the last 19 years in Turkey, we can easily see that this awareness has turned into action. The support given to the cinema increased more than 45 times in this process and increased from 5,4 million dollars to 246 million dollars. The number of projects we have supported in the three-year period between 2018-2021 is 1.360, and the amount of support is 284 million TL. With these supports, while the number of domestic movies released in 2002 was 9, it increased to 180 in the pre-pandemic period, and the number of domestic movie audiences, which was 2 million, reached 33 million. The changes we have made in the cinema law have opened all the ways for Turkey to become a country of cinema, and have implemented important facilities and regulations for the joint works that we are trying to pioneer with this festival. We are reaping the fruits of all these steps, from the enormous increase in the number of films produced to the interest of our people in cinema and thus the growth of box office figures, and we have no doubt that we will reach more tomorrow than today. I would like to emphasize that sharing the success with our friendly and brotherly countries and achieving greater success together will always be a serious goal and a means of happiness for us.”
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