Koçyiğit praises free film industry

KAYSERİ - Anatolia News Agency

Turkish actress Hülya Koçyiğit spoke in a seminar at the Erciyes Film Festival. DHA photo

The Turkish film industry is flourishing in the absence of censorship, Turkish actress Hülya Koçyiğit recently said, speaking at the Erciyes Film Festival.

“In the past we have experienced a lot of censorship. Now I think this trend has stopped,” said Turkish actress Hülya Koçyiğit said, speaking in a seminar at the Erciyes Film Festival, of which she was also a juror. Turkish producers are freer than they were in the past, and the film festivals are evidence of this.

“Students’ interest in Turkish movies is very important,” she said, adding that Turkish producers and directors are trying to reflect Turkish culture in their films. “Fifty years ago we saw this trend. This will continue, and 50 years from now directors will still reflect Turkish culture in their movies.”

For a long time the Turkish film industry was not well-known in the international arena, Koçyiğit said “But now this has changed, and Turkish movies are very popular right now. Turkish films are receiving major awards on the international scene.”

Today’s students, who are producing short films, will become the famous directors of the future, Koçyiğit said, and Turkey’s recent history may provide the inspiration for many new films. “We all love democracy and the life we live with it. We have experienced a lot of censorship in the past. Now we have a free environment,” she said.