A good year in Turkish cinema, but for who?

Turkish movies have been winning awards at major international film festivals from Berlin and Montreal to Sarajevo and Dubai throughout the year. Box Office numbers show that seven out of the 10 top-grossing movies are Turkish. However, the fact is that none of the movies that brought crowds to theaters are award-winners

It’s been both a record year and a bizarre year for Turkish cinema. In September, an unknown Turkish name won the Lion of the Future award at the Venice International Film Festival. Director and writer Ali Aydın made many proud with Küf (Mold), his debut feature and a poetic look at a father’s loss.

Then there were the award-sweepers like Emin Alper’s Tepenin Ardı (Beyond the Hill) and Reis Çelik’s Lal Gece (Night of Silence), hitting the news with new awards at international film festivals all through the year. Another happy piece of news for Turkish cinephiles came two weeks ago when Turkish auteur Zeki Demirkubuz’s Yeraltı (Inside) won the Best Film and Best Actor awards in the Dubai International Film Festival.

Box Office Turkey’s numbers for 2012 is another success story for Turkish cinema, setting yet another record with seven out of 10 movies among the most-watched films being Turkish films. These all seem consistent at first glance, serving as testament to a wonderful year for Turkish cinema. While it was truly a wonderful year for Turkish cinema, at home at the box office and abroad in international film circles, there is still a catch.

None of the seven films that drew crowds to movie theaters in 2012 are the above award winners or others that wowed the audience from Tokyo and Sarajevo to Abu Dhabi and Montreal. The top three most-watched movies, according to Box Office Turkey, have attracted more than 10 million viewers, one out of seven people in Turkey.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)