5,000 people attend CHP cinema days

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

CHP cinema reached 5,000 viewers. This photo shows a scene from ‘Bliss.’

CHP cinema days, which started in November 2011 at the general headquarters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), have already screened 10 films and reached 5,000 viewers, deputy leader Gürsel Tekin said.

The cinema days were opened by CHP president Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. “The aim of this cultural event is to gather cinema lovers under one roof. This also tells us that the CHP has a say in the changes of the political agenda, which is an ironic situation,” said deputy party leader Tekin.

Tekin also added that they had commemorated important names such as Mevlana Rumi, Nazım Hikmet, Türkan Saylan and Hrant Dink during the screening days, and that the screenings were open to everyone. 

“We have screened ‘Takiye: On The Road of God,’ which described the hardship that people go through in Turkey […] and Zülfü Livaneli’s movie ‘Happiness,’ which focused on honor killings and violence toward women,” he said. 

The film became a blockbuster in Turkey. Tekin also said they commemorated Mevlana with a documentary made on him titled “Mevlana: The Dance of Love.” 

Because of Human Rights Week, the CHP cinema days also showed Francois Truffaut’s classic 1966 film, “Fahrenheit 451.” 

The event started with the acclaimed Turkish film “On The Way To School” about the challenges Kurdish-speaking primary students face when trying to learn in Turkish at a public school in their village.