Türkiye

Cinema of Türkiye

Historically, the film industry in Türkiye dips in an ebb and flow with the economic stability or political unrest of the country.

The first Turkish made film appeared in 1914, “Demolition of the Russian Monument At San Stefano,” and in 1922, a second documentary was released about the Turkish War of Independence.

Filmmaking did not become a continuous endeavor until after World War II.

Türkiye’s most flourishing period of cinema is affectionately known as the Yeşilçam years: from the 1950s through the 1970s, named after Yesilcam Street in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul, where many of the actors, directors, and studios lived. At the time, it was one of the largest film industries in the world.

Yeşilçam, which translates to mean “the green pine,” reminisces the films of Hollywood’s 1930s and 1940s. During the Yeşilçam years, Türkiye’s film industry boomed, producing 100 films a year, and 300 in 1970.

Then came a brief period of erotic cinema, which permeated the mainstream.

But by the 1980s, a mix of political unrest, the tanking economy, and the dawning of television killed off Yeşilçam for good. The icing on the cake was the 1980 coup d’tat, when film production in Türkiye disappeared almost entirely.

Since 1960, there have been four military coup attempts where the Turkish army decided to intervene, fearing that Islam was becoming too involved in Türkiye’s political activities.

After the first coup in 1960, a more liberal government was set up and films with political themes thrived during this decade. By the eighties, however, hopes of creative freedom were dashed.

In 1980, there was a third coup d’tat that led to a crackdown on political and independent films. Some were banned and directors such as Yilmaz Güney smuggled their films abroad.

Yilmaz Güney was a Kurdish film director who was imprisoned repeatedly for his writings and political activities which were deemed “Communist.” Güney, who constantly clashed with authority, spent many years in and out of jail.

In 1982, Güney’s film “Yol,” which he smuggled out of prison, won the Cannes Film Festival Palm d’Or award.

Güney wrote “Yol” while in prison and had a surrogate, Şerif Gören, direct it for him. Güney managed to escape out of prison and smuggled the film negatives to Switzerland to be edited in Paris. “Yol” was banned in Türkiye until 1999.

Because of the political unrest of the 1980s and 1990s, the cinema industry disappeared almost entirely. By the early 2000s, there was a rise in independent art-house cinema which eventually led to a resurgence of the industry with the international success of filmmakers such as Fatih Akin and Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

President Erdoğan has cracked down on censorship in cinema once again. He created the “popcorn law” which requires filmmakers to apply for a permit anytime they want to screen a film anywhere in Türkiye. This is not limited to commercial films, but includes shorts and indies as well. You cannot screen a film in Türkiye without government approval.