Cinema junkies asked to be juries as online voting launched to select 100 best Turkish films

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Not only 'la crème de la crème' of the Turkish cinema - like Yılmaz Güney and Atıf Yılmaz - are on the list: Voters can even chose Şahan Gökbakar's outrageously entertaining 'Recep İvedik' debut movie.

Voting has recently begun to select the best 100 films of Turkish cinema as part of events marking the 100th anniversary of the country’s cinema.

On the first day of the voting, nearly 60,000 people voted for the films. Some 300 films, selected from a list of 500 films determined by academics, professional societies and nongovernmental organizations, were presented to public, said Cinema General Director Mesut Cem Erkul.

“The voting will continue until Sept. 1, and we will announce the results to the public with a special ceremony. Posters and visuals of the best 100 films will be displayed at an exhibition. Also, a costume from each film will be made and they will be displayed at the Turkish Film Archive and a Cinema Museum will be opened,” Erkul said.

He also noted that in its 100th year, Turkey received invitations from the world’s leading festivals such as Venice, Valladolid, Guanajuato and Busan.

He said the Culture and Tourism Ministry had doubled its support to Turkish cinema in 2014, providing nearly 37 million Turkish Liras to 266 projects.

He said the highest support this year was given to director Semih Kaplanoğlu’s film “Buğday” (Wheat) and Özhan Eren’s “Çanakkale Geçilmez,” adding that thanks to those contributions, Turkish cinema made its self-heard in the international arena. The number of local productions also increased this year.
“Successful Turkish films have returned from prestigious festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Montreal, St. Petersburg, Tokyo and San Francisco with awards in recent years. The fact that Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s ‘Winter Sleep’ won the Palme d’Or this year means that we raised the bar internationally,” Erkul said.

Those who want to vote for the best 100 Turkish films can visit: http://100yil100film.gov.tr or http://www.yuzyilyuzfilm.gov.tr.