‘Bakur’ crisis hits Ankara Film Fest

ANKARA

Following the censorship crisis that recently erupted after the ban on the screening of the film “Bakur” (North) at the Istanbul Film Festival, the 26th Ankara International Film Festival has canceled its documentary and short film competitions, on the grounds that they will not be fair without the participation of “Bakur.”

During the time originally set for the screening of their films, the directors of the films in the competition will instead have the opportunity to attend audience talks.

The festival is set to take place between April 23 and May 3.

In a statement released on April 16, the festival committee said regulations pertaining to films’ evaluation and categorization procedures made the screening of 16 documentaries and 31 short films in the competition impossible.

“When even just one film is not able to show its official registration certificate [required by the Culture Ministry for the screening of films made in Turkey], it would not be a fair competition. Considering this situation, our directorate and jury members canceled the national documentary and national short film competitions. The films that will be able to show this certificate will be screened for free, but the directors of other ones without this certificate will have chance to meet audiences during the screening time of their films,” the statement said.