Turkey’s Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival has been cancelled a week before its 60th edition due to intense political pressure over the planned screening of the documentary “The Decree.”
The film was scheduled to be entered in the festival’s national documentary film competition, but was removed from the lineup last week following government pressure on the event’s main organizer, Antalya Metropolitan Region.
Directed by Nejla Demirci, Decree depicts the plight of victims after the Turkish government carried out a large-scale purge of state institutions following a 2016 coup attempt. The documentary, locally titled Kanun Hükmü, centers on a doctor and a teacher who suddenly collapse. As a result of this action, you find yourself without a job.
Antalya Film Festival director Ahmet Boyasioglu said the film’s removal was due to claims that the characters featured in the film were taking part in ongoing legal proceedings. However, director Demirci denied the claims, saying there were no ongoing legal proceedings, and said the removal was a “blow to the film industry.”
The move sparked a wave of protests amid accusations of censorship, and 20 competition jurors resigned. This was followed by 27 other filmmakers who announced they would remove their films from the festival’s national feature, documentary and short film competition.
In a joint statement Wednesday, the filmmakers said: “We believe that the cancellation of this film is a direct threat to freedom of artistic expression. We firmly believe that a film festival, which is essentially a part of society, should never be allowed to succumb to censorship.”
Although the title of the international competition had not yet been announced, the directors and producers of those films began to follow suit and withdraw from the event.
As a result, organizers canceled it and announced Thursday morning that they were reinstating the ordinance into the program.
“Our cinema, our people, Antalya and the Antalya Film Festival have joined hands and won the fight for democracy,” Demirci wrote on social media.
In response, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism withdrew its support and issued the following statement: “It is extremely unfortunate that the power of art at such an important festival is being used to further the terrorist organization FETO’s propaganda. Victim mentality.”
FETO is the acronym applied to the Gulenist movement, which the government attributes to the July 2016 coup attempt that left 251 people dead and more than 2,700 injured.
The festival’s sponsors also worked with the ministry to provide support.
In response, festival director Boyacuoğlu said an investigation had been launched against him and the festival. “At this point, we are being treated as if we are the responsible culprits in this matter,” he said in a statement. “Being labeled as a supporter of any terrorist organization is unacceptable. We are removing the documentary titled ‘Kanun Hükmü’ from our festival selection. ”
Now, after a day of discussions, festival organizers have canceled the 60th edition, which was scheduled to run from October 7th to 14th.
“The Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival has some news that is very difficult to share,” said a statement released by the festival to Screen. “The Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival must inform everyone that, given the current situation and oppressive environment, it is not possible to continue with the film festival and forum that the festival has worked so hard on. I feel sorry for you.
“The responsibility of the film festival is to ensure that no one in the film industry becomes a target under such a repressive regime. Defend freedom.”
Festival organizers have received a series of threats over the past week and are understood to be leaving Antalya for their own safety. Domestic and international guests have been advised not to attend.
previous pressure
This is not the first time Turkey’s oldest and most prestigious film festival has clashed with political forces. Former Antalya mayor Menderes Turer, a member of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), and the country’s independent filmmaking community have been in conflict for two years over the direction of the project. There was a struggle to cross.
Because the local city council funded the festival, the city of Tulare was able to force some changes to the format, including canceling in 2017 the national competition that had been the centerpiece of the event since its inception in 1963. Ta.
This was positioned as a strategy to make the festival more international and transform the southern Mediterranean beach resort of Antalya into a major filming location with its own studio. However, the local industry branded the changes as covert censorship aimed at preventing edgy local features and political statements by winners from being shown at the televised ceremony.
This resulted in Turkish filmmakers and producers boycotting the festival in 2017 and 2018 and creating a national counter-conference in Istanbul, held at the same time.
In March 2019, Tüler’s control over the festival ended when he lost his seat to center-left candidate Mukhitin Becek in local elections, with the AKP losing control of several major cities and the festival. ‘s new leadership has reinstated a national long-form competition. A sidebar dedicated to local documentaries and short films.
In the same year, they also revived the historic title of Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, renaming the previous two International Antalya Film Festivals.
This week’s events will cause the festival to reconsider its future plans.
