US universities to host Turkish productions

ISTANBUL-Hürriyet Daily News

"The River Flowing Westward" Two Turkish documentaries will meet US students and academics during screenings at the country’s leading universities.

Two big-budget Turkish documentaries produced by Istanbul’s Bahçeşehir University will soon be aired at leading U.S. universities.

“Türk Pasaportu” (The Turkish Passport), which sheds light on Turkish diplomats’ efforts to save Jews during the Holocaust, and “Batıya Doğru Akan Nehir “(The River Flowing Westward), which tells the unknown stories of civilizations through historical documents, will be screened in leading U.S. universities with the participation Bahçeşehir University Board of Trustees Chairman Enver Yücel.

“Turkish Passport” examines the story of diplomats posted to Turkish embassies and consulates in several European countries that saved numerous Jews during the Holocaust. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011.

The film will be shown today at New York University (NYU) and March 29 at Yale University. The first screening of the film was made at Harvard University, and screenings of the film will continue at other U.S. universities.

The series “River Flowing Westward” is the brainchild of Bahçeşehir University’s Civilization Studies Center Chairman Professor Bekir Karlıağa. Using original sources and modern technology, the project’s aim is to narrate the historical run toward the West during the last three and a half millennia.

Karlıağa wrote the film’s script in the last two years following 10 years of research. The script was turned into a plot at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Shooting for the documentary was conducted in 16 countries. Nearly 200 intellectuals, artists, scientists and politicians delved into Mesopotamia’s history for the project, while producers used the latest technology to bring the cities and the artwork of the past to life.

The documentary is made up of 20 episodes, each of which is 45 minutes long, and has two versions, long and short.

The first U.S. screening of the documentary will be made tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Columbia University. It will also be screened in other leading U.S. universities.