Mike Brown

5/9/17

International Film

Country Report

CINEMA OF TURKEY
Mustafa Kemal founded Turkey in 1923. Kemals goal was to bring this fallen ground

back up and modernize it in terms of technology and government. The 1940s brought

about an election system to bring government officials into office, which was a great

occurrence for the Democratic Party when the 1950s rolled around. The 1970s brought a

time of tension, terrorism, and unemployment. Within the next decade, the government

began to fight these problems and bring back peace and order.

CAPITAL OF TURKEY: ANKARA

SIZE OF TURKEY: 779,542 SQ KM

POPULATION: 74.5 MILLION (2017)

RELIGION: ISLAM

ETHNIC GROUP: TURKISH, KURDISH

LANGUAGES: TURKISH, KURDISH

GDP: $822.1 Billion (2013)

INDUSTRIES: Agriculture (Tobacco and Cotton), Textiles, and Banking

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 12.1% (from November 2016)

POPULATION IN POVERTY: 21.9% (from 2015)

PRESIDENT OF TURKEY: Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He started as Prime Minister in 2003

and then became the elected President in 2014.

After cinema had been relatively unpopular in Turkey for some time, a new wave in

Turkish filmmakers swept the scene in the 1990s. These Turkish films tended to focus on
dramatic storylines. Turkish directors lean towards a minimal use of dialogue, while

focusing on a slow development to make the film progress.

NOTABLE FILMS:

Innocence (2004) Dir. By Lucille Hadzihalilovic (winner for Best New Director at the

San Sebastin Film Festival)

Uzak (Distant) (2002) Dir. By Nuri Bilge Ceylan (winner for Best Actor at Cannes)

The Edge of Heaven (2007) Dir. By Fatih Akin (winner for Best Screenplay and Prize of

Ecumenical Jury at Cannes)

NOTABLE DIRECTORS:
(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT)

NURI BILGE CEYLAN (Distant, Once Upon a Time In Anatolia, Climates) known for

shooting on low budget and using unprofessional actors.

ZEKI DEMIRKUBUZ (Innocence, Confession, Fate) creates films focusing on ethical

and dark themes.

SEMIH KAPLANOGLU (Honey, Milk, Egg) aims towards realistic filmmaking and

avoids using soundtracks.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) (x) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) (x) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I
clearly explain that in the paper.

3) (x) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used
indentation and citation within the text.

4) (x) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the
bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) (x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another
way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.
7) (x) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or
originality.

8) (x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the
research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Mike Brown Date: 5/9/17

MASUMIYET (INNOCENCE) TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Y1ToPu75f6Q

UZAK (DISTANT) TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJKIypY3P-g

THE EDGE OF HEAVEN TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=bgkYRH7zPRM
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Helen Chapin Metz, ed. Turkey: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of

Congress, 1995.

Samuels, A. J. "Introducing Turkish Cinema's Fierce New Wave." Culture Trip. N.p., 20

Oct. 2012. Web. 08 May 2017.

"Turkey Country Profile." BBC News. BBC, 07 Mar. 2017. Web. 08 May 2017.

"Turkish Facts and Statistics." Turkish Facts and Statistics - All About Turkey. N.p., n.d.

Web. 08 May 2017.