A film workshop in Anatolia invites cinema enthusaists

KAYSERİ - Anadolu Agency

‘We invite everyone who is interested in cinema,’ says Veysel Akşahin.

The filmmakers of the future are being raised in the Yücel Çakmaklı Film Workshop, which has been opened in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri with the collaboration of the municipality and the city’s university. 

For the film workshop, a centuries-old mansion on the historical Ali Saip Paşa Street has been restored by the Talas Municipality. Talas Mayor Rıfat Yıldırım said the district had been the home to Armenians, Greeks and Turks in the past and they were carrying out restorations to reveal the values in such an Anatolian district. 

Yıldırım said within the scope of the restorations, they renovated 64 houses on Ali Saip Paşa Street, adding, “Our purpose is to turn this place into a street for tourism and art. This is why we set up various functions on the street. One is this film workshop, which we named for the famous director Yücel Çakmaklı. Young people will have the chance to practice what they learn in the school in this restored mansion.”

A say in the film sector

The mayor said the young people who would attend the film workshop would have the opportunity to have a say in the film sector, which is one of their goals. He said, “Students finish their school and get involved in business life. How much do local administrations support them to improve themselves? This workshop has been created as a result of a good dialogue between the local administration and the university. Anatolian people should be strong in the film sector. We wanted to pave the way for young people. We hope this place will be a workshop for the cinema artists and directors of the future.” 

Yıldırım said the district, located in the skirts of the Ali Mountain, was a kind of natural film platform, adding that Talas should be evaluated by the film sector.

The Yücel Çakmaklı Film Workshop Coordinator Akif Kaya said the classes on camera, shooting techniques, scriptwriting and filmmaking would be given in the workshop and theories will turn into practice. 

He said the workshop aimed at supporting independent filmmakers, adding, “We aim to create a center of attraction in cinema in Anatolia. We want to show that filmmaking is possible in Anatolia. Istanbul is the leading city in this field. We want to show that the Anatolian children can have a place in the cinema sector as well. Talas is a kind of open air museum thanks to its historic tissue. It provides cinematographic pictures. We invite producers here.” 

Deputy Chairman for the Anatolian Filmmakers Association, which supports the workshop, Veysel Akşahin said they formed 12-person classes in the historical mansion to give education. 

“We invite everyone young and old who are interested in cinema. We are graduates of the faculty of communication and have enough theoretical information. We have worked for various film settings in Istanbul. We want to use our knowledge in the field of cinema, taking the advantage of Talas. Particularly, we want to create a different movement in documentaries,” he said.