Turkish cinema asks: Which human rights?

Celebrating global Human Rights Day, here is a look at human rights violations in recent history with a brief journey through Turkish cinema. Hunger strikes, political prisoners, war in southeastern Turkey and disappearances in custody are some of the subjects of these films

Today is Human Rights Day across the globe, the day we celebrate the proclamation and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For many in Turkey there isn’t all that much to celebrate these days considering the hunger strikes, imprisoned journalists, disappearances in custody and a growing perception that the rule of law is no longer the norm.

Perhaps the best way to take a look at human rights in Turkey - or rather the violation of human rights - is to remember some of the feature films and documentaries that have brought some of these violations into the spotlight in recent memory.

The obvious first choice is journalist Ruhi Karadağ’s documentary Simurg (Simurgh), currently on release in theaters. The film focuses on hunger strikes, an issue that recently made the news, although the recent hunger strikes were different to the ones shown in the movie. What’s more, the recent ones did not end up with an infamous operation in which police and soldiers broke into prisons to halt the strikes.

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The year of politics and thrillers in Turkish cinema

2011 in Turkish cinema saw political propaganda cede its place to more objective storytelling and directors hone their craft with action/thriller-type films. In 2012, meanwhile, vampires are getting ready to sink their teeth into cinemas

Last year might not have been the most inspirational one in Turkey’s cinematic history, but it saw the biggest number of movies released in 20 years. There were the obligatory award-winning art house movies, and the mainstream comedies aiming for cheap laughs.

But 2011 was also the year political propaganda gave way to a more refined method of storytelling in regard to Turkey’s recent history. 2011 also saw some directors try their craft in action/thrillers to impressive effect. Here’s a look at some examples of the trends in 2011 films, though there were many more that could have made our list.

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'Press': When journalists become fallen angels

In his debut feature, director and writer Sedat Yılmaz follows a group of journalists in Diyarbakır during the early 1990s, when Turkey topped the list of countries with the greatest number of journalists killed. ‘Press’ is at once very real and heartbreaking


Hrant Dink, Abdi İpekçi, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı and Uğur Mumcu are a few of the names who have given journalism a whole new meaning in Turkey since the late 1970s. They all were killed pursuing truth, human rights and the right to information. It’s hard to imagine Turkey leading any list when it comes to freedom of speech and freedom of the media. But there is actually one list that Turkey tops: the greatest number of journalists killed in any country in 1992.

In fact, the number of journalists killed between 1992 and 1994 is a staggering 30, while the number becomes even more alarming with 17 distributors and sellers included into the list. Director and writer Sedat Yılmaz’s recent drama Press delves into this disgraceful period when the Turkish press received the most fatal hits in its history.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)