Anatolian rock legend’s film removed from theaters

ISTANBUL

The movie "Cem Karaca’s Tears," which tells the life story of the legendary name of Anatolian rock music, Cem Karaca, has been removed from screening due to a lawsuit filed by the artist's wife İlkim Karaca over copyright issues.

The lawsuit was filed on the grounds that permission was not obtained for the songs used in the movie. In the interim decision made in the lawsuit, the court decided to stop the screening of the movie if İlkim Karaca deposited 3.5 million Turkish Liras collateral.

Upon İlkim Karaca's deposit, the movie was removed from theaters. The movie has reached almost 220,000 viewers in three weeks since its release on Jan. 26.

The film's production companies Fikri Harika Production and Aytaç Medya released a written statement on the matter.

The statement argued that Emrah Karaca, Cem Karaca's son and the consultant for the movie, owned three-fourths of the rights to the songs including "Muhtar," "Emrah," "Tamirci Çırağı" and "Ceviz Ağacı" used in the movie.

"The remaining rights of the songs are owned by All Stars Music, to which the plaintiff has sold and transferred all of its rights since 2018. We, as the production company, have acquired the one-fourth right from the institution legally specified by the Turkish Musical Work Owners' Professional Association [MESAM]," it further said.

"It is a great honor and responsibility for us to bring Karaca's life of struggle, his musical journey and his influence to the audience, and to pass them on to future generations through cinema," the companies stated. "The decision has saddened both us and Cem Karaca fans."