Voting still open for top Turkish movies

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

‘Hababam Sınıfı’ is still the most watched film on Turkish televisions.

The voting, which had begun in June, to select the best 100 films of Turkish cinema as part of events marking the 100th anniversary of the country’s cinema, will end soon. Nearly 289,000 people so far have voted and the cult 1970s series “Hababam Sınıfı” (Chaos Class) tops the list. The film is still the most-watched film on Turkish televisions.

Adapted from writer and poet Rıfat Ilgaz’s novel of the same name, the movie features comic scenes of students’ adventures between themselves, their teachers, other students and the principal, who declares a disciplinary war on them.

According to information provided by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, 301 films, selected from a list of 500 films determined by academics, professional societies and nongovernmental organizations were presented to the public for the voting. It is followed by Yavuz Turgul’s 1996 film “Eşkıya” and Çağan Irmak’s 2005 film “Babam ve Oğlum” (My Father and My Son). 

Among the other most-voted films on the list is the recent film, Serdar Akar’s “Behzat Ç. Seni Kalbime Gömdüm” (Behzat Ç., I Buried you in my Heart) and one of the unforgettable films of Turkish cinema, Atıf Yılmaz’s “Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım” (The Girl with the Red Scarf).

In recent years, Turkish films have drawn the highest attention in movie theaters. In voting for the best 100 Turkish films, comedy and drama films come to the fore. The voting will end at the end of this month and results will be announced on Sept.1. Those who want to vote for the best 100 Turkish films can visit: http://100yil100film.gov.tr or http://www.yuzyilyuzfilm.gov.tr.