US universities host Turkish productions

NEW YORK - Anatolia News Agency

The chairman of Bahçeşehir’s board of trustees, Enver Yücel, is seen delievering a speech at the screening of the documentary titled ‘The River Flowing Westward.’ AAPhoto

The Turkish documentary “Batıya Doğru Akan Nehir” (The River Flowing Westward), produced by the chairman of Bahçeşehir University’s Civilization Studies Center, Bekir Karlığa, was shown March 27 at Columbia University in New York. The chairman of Bahçeşehir’s board of trustees, Enver Yücel, was also present at the screening.

Columbia University professor Francisco Batiz, speaking prior to the screening, said that eastern and western civilizations are always connected to each other, and the documentary talks about this connection.

In his remarks at the screening, Yücel said that although Bahçeşehir is a young university, it has established the Civilization Studies Center, where the decision was made five years ago to produce the documentary, with the goal of showing it to the world. He said the film had been shot in 16 countries and reflected the views of some 200 intellectuals, artists, scientists and politicians, adding that negotiations to screen the documentary are ongoing with 20 international television channels. “I hope that this documentary will be studied in schools around the world, and will contribute to peace between civilizations,” Yücel said.

New York University lecturer Selçuk Şirin said that after the September 11 terror attacks, his students began to see him as a “Muslim teacher.” He said that many things changed for Muslims in the U.S. in the 12 months following the attacks, and that hate crimes against Muslims have increased 17 percent.

Another Turkish documentary, “Türk Pasaportu” (Turkish Passport), was screened at New York University. The film debuted four months ago at Harvard University. “The documentary examines the story of diplomats posted to Turkish embassies and consulates in several European countries, who saved numerous Jews during the Holocaust. Yücel also attended the screening of this documentary, along with United Nations Permanent Representative of Turkey, Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan, the film’s producer Güneş Çelikcan and the project director Yael Habif, as well as many Turkish and American guests.