NEWSROOM

The second of the Media, Culture, Society Meetings, “Anne ben gazeteci miyim?” platform discussed the mainstream and independent cinema with the famous directors Can Ulkay and Can Evrenol. While Ulkay says that a mainstream movie can also be found in film festivals, Evrenol pointed out that many films that are regarded as independent are not independent.

*** This release is originally published in Turkish.
Google Translate Application translates the content you see on this page.***

ISTANBUL (TR) - The second of the Media, Culture, Society Meetings organized by the “Anne ben gazeteci miyim?” platform was held on Saturday in Design Workshop in Kadıköy with the participation of Can Ulkay, the director of many blockbuster successful films such as Ayla and Müslüm and Baskın, Housewife and Peri director Can Evrenol. Journalist Ali Demirtaş was the moderator of the meeting, which was shaped on the questions like "How to separate mainstream cinema and independent cinema?, What are the criteria of this distinction? and What are the film festivals and their counterparts at the box office?"

"Independent Cinema Is Not Independent."

Can Ulkay summed up mainstream and independent cinema with these words: “One is free in every respect and the other is a field that has to walk within the framework of certain rules and serves the cinema industry more. Independent cinema is endless and free. Especially for the director, it is something that has no boundaries, is original and can go anywhere. Mainstream cinema is an area with borders and corners. Of course, as in independent cinema, there is aesthetics and art in mainstream cinema. I am especially on the mainstream side, i.e. the side with borders. We manage our movies within these limits. This is the biggest difference for me, otherwise, the language is the same. Whether independent or mainstream cinema, as a director, I can say that in mainstream cinema, it must be included in the concepts of style, school, aesthetics. ” Evrenol expressed his thoughts on this subject as follows: “Actually, it seems to me that independent cinema has not much. I think the main difference is one product and the other is a unique work. But sometimes a product can appeal to you more than work. Sometimes, a piece of work may not be so free. Many exceptions need to be taken into account in order to clearly demonstrate the difference between the two. It's a little bit about how we approach that work or product.”

“There should be halls in different cinema concept"

Pointing out that independent films have difficulties in finding a hall, Ulkay said, “When you make mainstream cinema, the halls where these films will be shown are certain. This is very little if you make independent cinema. Other films need to find rooms to show. Yes, I am a director who the distributor loves. Because I make them money. But the main issue is that other films made can also be made available to the public. For example, one out of every eight halls can bring in Turkey as a rule Cinema Another feature of transport is required. The films we call independent should definitely be supported. Though there are movies and scripts that the Ministry supports every year. What are these films going on? We do not know whether it was taken or not, this is another matter. ” Saying, Evrenol said: “My films have a structure that turns their backs on the blockbuster formulas. But actually, my movie, which turned its back on the box office, was most-watched. The journey of a little movie is also important. For example, Raid has the wind of the Toronto Film Festival behind it, it is marketed like gin movies, so it has both pros and cons. This is a whole. I say, "I did some tricks, I did the biennial as if I was doing business." Because actually, I create works like both art films and products. A movie can be both a product and an independent, or it is possible to be a film festival movie and not independent. I was very lucky that I have a mother and father who worshipped cinema incredibly. Although they didn't have a lot of money, they financed my first movie and supported me. For this reason, I feel like my career; I had the chance to make a movie as if he had proven himself, reached a certain maturity and then made the film he wanted. Happily, it actually continued like this after Baskın. ”

"We Need To Recognize Our Mainstream Cinema In The World"

He said, “One of the biggest dreams of every filmmaker is the interplay of independent cinema and mainstream cinema, and the person or institution that finances the film never gets involved in the film. Maybe this is utopian, but when there are situations close to what I say, I think there are better things to do. For example, Mustafa Uslu is a crazy person who wants an incredible cinema. And already, the filmmaker must be such a crazy person. He does something in himself and puts his heart. I think Ayla and Naim are closer to me than Hakan Muhafız. I am sure that Mustafa Uslu is also cropping and putting what he wants to do in his head. For example, Naim could not catch what he wanted at the box office. It seems to me that there is no such thing as selling for sure. All of this is a little bit about cultural erosion. ” Speaking after Evrenol, Ulkay said, “We should at least try things that have never been done for our cinema. We need to introduce Turkish cinema to the world as the mainstream. They know the independent cinema and our independent directors very well, but I think they need to know our mainstream cinema. Why not introduce the things written in our own language, our own culture, our own language to the world?”

"Ayla Couldn't Find A Place In Any Film Festival In Turkey"

Taking part in film festivals in mainstream films to be in Turkey, it is about to be invited to place Find inability or Evrenol, "for example, came from Korea in the fantastic film festivals abroad and going the Korean box office champion films saw incredible liked. In other words, I think it is an excellent thing to have films that have made good booths in their own country. So, he found a response in his own country. ” Then, Ulkay said: “Ayla has 22 awards from film festivals abroad. If no reward from Turkey. So is Muslim. Yes, there is a concept called a festival movie, but it is so confusing... Why are the films called to the festivals? Because the awards like the best actor, the best art director, the best script are given. There may be films that will be nominated for these categories from many mainstream films. Then those people have been unfair. I do not know who decided what and what. Whether independently or mainstream, the film definitely has a valuable aspect and should be seen. ”

"In My Cinema, I Should Have A Little Father And Son In A NBC Parallel, And I Can't Freeze A Bit Of Ice Cream"

How Evrenol said that the meeting also discussed the issue of Turkey will be possible to gain an identity characteristic of cinema: "Nuri Bilge Ceylan films with Turkey's recognition of the world is coming very meaningful to me. In fact, in addition to many darknesses in this country, catching the little jokes in that loneliness, beauty and calm is also a sign. Also, I think the funniest movies are NBC movies. I haven't laughed in any other Turkish movie as much as I laughed at Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. The identity of Turkish cinema should be from such a place, and it should consist of films such as Dondurmam Kaymak, Babam ve Oğlum, and Ayla, which are such a sad and arabesque side but also tell their own story in a unique way. If there were Turkish cinema in parallel with NBC in the world, I think this would suit us very well. It was as if it could be unique and unique to us.”

"When We Realize Our Wealth, Turkish Cinema Can Be Something"

Can Ulkay expressed his thoughts on this issue as follows: “We are one of the rare countries in the world that neither side of us is like any other. This is actually wealth. Food richness, cultural richness. Whatever you say. We shouldn't have our own cultural cinema. Our colour is our cultural richness. For example, in Turkey in the last 15 years, it produced a showreel from watching the video films we do, and this one went into shock. It would be a colourful showreel and it would be beautiful. First of all, all of our filmmakers have to do what they want. He has to do what he wants as he wants, so that Turkish cinema is enriched first. I think Turkish cinema should be known as a cinema with its own style and color. It should be known as a cinema with multiple languages. For example, I can make a movie according to the region where I grew up, Can Evrenol is another. When we look at all, there are valuable scenes in it. We just need to make a little more cinema tailored to our language, then it will be a very big movie theater. On the other hand, if a lot of audiences is coming to a movie, the director is applauded, when the fewer audience goes, they are not applauded and are considered unsuccessful. But this is also a very wrong thing. We haven't found this balance yet. ”

About ‘Anne ben gazeteci miyim?’ Platform

‘Anne ben gazeteci miyim?’ platform is an original and independent platform with the title of Media, Culture and Society Journalism and the basic concept of 'asking questions' where current media criticism and analysis are written, media reports are kept in the long term, media, culture and society-based conversation, current news and research news are produced. It started its publication life in June, with the web address of www.annebengazetecimiyim.com.