Film pursuits traces of Turkey and China

SHANGHAI - Anatolia News Agency

Mustafa Altıoklar is working in Beijing and Shanghai for his first documentary film project. AA Photo

In his first documentary film project, “İzin Peşinde” (In Pursuit of Traces), Turkish director Mustafa Altıoklar seeks to elucidate some of the similarities between Turkish and Chinese cultures.

Altıoklar said the project had been instigated upon the suggestion of the Film Producers’ Professional Association’s (FİYAB), and that the proposal was very attractive for him.

“When filming, we understood that even we, who consider ourselves intellectuals, know too little about China. Chinese people know too little about Turkey, too. The only thing that Turkish people know about them is that they are slant-eyed and that China is very crowded,” he said, adding that he was proud to be working on such a project at this stage of his career.

“The film is based on Rumi’s doctrine and its philosophical similarities with Confucianism and Taoism. The film, which is being completed in Beijing and Shangai, will be released at the end of October,” Altıoklar said, adding that China Central Television (CCTV) had opened its archives for the project.

Speaking about the project, FİYAB Chairman Galip Gültekin said: “This is the first and only cinema project exploring Turkish and Chinese culture together. Our goal is to discover the common features of both countries.”

FİYAB also supported other recent Turkish productions such as “Gişe Memuru” (Toll Booth), “Memleket Meselesi” (A Country Matter),” Zefir” (Zephyr), “Denizden Gelen” (Brought by the Sea) and “New York’ta Beş Minare” (Five Minarets in New York).