History of Cinema Censorship in Turkey Book Introduced

The book “History of Cinema Censorship in Turkey”, which was prepared using the archive of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Copyrights, was introduced.

In his speech at the promotional event held at the Ministry's historical building in Ulus, General Director of Copyrights Ziya Taşkent explained the process of preparing the book.

Stating that the censorship decision books, which were the subject of the review, in which the censorship practices carried out in 1932-1988 were processed, were transferred to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism about 30 years ago and are preserved in the archive of the General Directorate of Copyrights, Taşkent said that these books were digitized 9 years ago against physical wear.

Taşkent stated that they set out to process this material in a way that sheds light on the history of Turkish cinema, and stated that they are working with academicians from Ankara University Faculty of Communication to examine the archive as it deserves.

Accessed electronically

Emphasizing that the censorship boards wanted to determine the sensitivity topics they focused on in their work and to distribute them according to years, Taşkent said, "At the end, a work has emerged that does not make any judgments, accusations, does not create a past period, conveys everything objectively and leaves the interpretation to the reader." said.

Stating that the work was published in a certain number, but it was made available electronically so that everyone could access it, Taşkent stated that they did not price the book and do not offer it for sale because they did not see the book as a commercial commodity. Tashkent said:

“I find it very valuable for a government institution to show this self-confidence, to lift the carpet from its edge and look at those who are being swept under it and share it. In this way, the myths arising from this mystery will end because it has remained out of sight and out of reach for years, and thanks to this work, it will turn into concrete findings. I think that the work will be meaningful and useful not only for those who are interested in the history of cinema, but also for those who want to follow the social, cultural and political developments in Turkey in the period of the Republic of Turkey, which is nearly 100 years old.”

Serhat Dalgıç, Head of Documentation and Archive Department, said that there are 11 files and 200 thousand decision documents regarding censorship in Turkish cinema in the archive of the General Directorate of Copyrights.

Dalgıç expressed his belief that the work will constitute an important resource for the works to be done in the field of cinema in the coming periods.

In the event, where a short film on the history of censorship in Turkish cinema was screened, a Turkish Classical Music concert was presented.

The book was written by Prof. Dr. Semire Ruken Öztürk and Assoc. Dr. After the panel where Ali Karadoğan gave information about the work, the “Film Posters Exhibition from the Document and Material Archive of Cinema and Music Works” of the General Directorate was opened.