Dozens of Turkish Filmmakers Protest Removal of a Film from Istanbul Festival

Dozens of Turkish filmmakers withdrew their works from the Istanbul International Film Festival in protest against the censorship and removal of a documentary film. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the documentary "Bakur" (North), which focuses on the camps of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) rebels, was scheduled to be screened on Sunday, April 23, but was canceled just hours before the event. Turkey considers the PKK rebels as terrorists. The newspaper states that the reason given by the Istanbul Film Festival officials for not screening "Bakur" was a letter from the Turkish Ministry of Culture claiming that the film did not have the necessary permits for production. However, this action immediately provoked a reaction from the Turkish filmmaking community, with over a hundred of them publishing an open letter in Turkish media accusing the government of "oppression and censorship." Among these filmmakers is Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who won the Palme d'Or at the last Cannes Film Festival. The open letter states: "We, the filmmakers who signed this letter, oppose the imposition of these regulations and consider them a tool for censorship." According to these filmmakers, the Istanbul Film Festival's decision to not screen "Bakur" was politically motivated, as many films without registration certificates have been shown at the festival without any issues. A total of 23 Turkish filmmakers have withdrawn their works from the Istanbul Film Festival, leading the organizers to announce on Monday that all competition sections and the closing ceremony of the festival have been canceled. The documentary "Bakur" is a joint work by Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and Çayan Demirel. Mavioğlu stated that he was deeply affected by the actions of Turkish filmmakers, as it was the first time he had witnessed such widespread solidarity in protest against censorship in Turkish cinema. In recent years, the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly been accused of attempting to censor and silence dissenting voices. For instance, in December 2013, AFP reported, citing a source "in the Turkish parliament," about the Erdoğan government's efforts to impose stricter oversight on the online activities of certain users and censor "some words."