Director dropped from festival over violence against woman

ISTANBUL

A director has been kicked out of the prestigious İKSV Film Festival following allegations that he was the perpetrator of a violent act against a woman.

Serhat Yüksekbağ was to compete in the National Documentary Competition with his “A New World is Born.”

However, the festival organizer, the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), announced on Twitter that Yüksekdağ was removed from the festival.

“We learned that the director [of the movie] was the perpetrator of a violent act committed in the past. We have removed the film from the festival and the competition. We want to remind, as İKSV and the İstanbul Film Festival, that we are against the perpetrators of violence and violence against women in every sphere of life,” the İKSV said in a statement on social media.

In 2019, a woman wrote on Twitter that Yüksekbağ battered her for three hours.

“I have no idea where this man, who before had put a knife on my throat, is and what he is going to do. I have been living with this for months,” tweeted Gamze K., the victim.

Gamze K. obtained a medical report showing that she was the victim of violence and secured a restraining order from a court for Yüksekbağ.

The İKSV learned about the violence incident through a women solidarity network, “Susma Bitsin Platformu.”