Families of soldiers wait for the verdict in front of the Sincan Penal Institution at the 4th Heavy Penal Court near Ankara, on Nov. 26, 2020, in connection with the bloody 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. An international film festival in Turkey has been canceled after controversy over a documentary about judicial purges that followed the attempted coup in 2016, authorities said Friday, Sept 29, 2023. The Ministry of Culture withdrew its support for the festival, calling it propaganda for the preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of being behind the coup attempt. STRINGER / AFP
ANKARA, Turkey—A highly-anticipated international film festival in Turkey has been abruptly canceled following a fiery dispute surrounding a documentary exploring the aftermath of a failed coup attempt in 2016. The festival organizers announced the cancellation on Friday, Sept 29.
The controversy revolves around the documentary titled “The Decree,” which highlights the struggles of a doctor and a teacher impacted by the wide-ranging crackdown led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he survived the coup attempt. Initially chosen for competition in the prestigious “Golden Orange” film festival in Antalya, the documentary was unexpectedly excluded, leading to outrage from filmmakers who condemned the decision as an act of censorship.
Outraged by the exclusion, members of the festival’s jury threatened to withdraw if the documentary was not reinstated. They expressed their rejection of the approach that searches for incriminating elements in films and called for an end to the normalization of censorship.
In response to the outcry, the festival organizers eventually decided to include the film again. However, the Turkish Ministry of Culture intervened and ultimately forced its exclusion once more.
The mayor of Antalya shared in a social media post, “I regret to inform film lovers that we have canceled our festival, which was set to take place between October 7-14, due to external developments.”
The Ministry of Culture withdrew its support for the festival, labeling it as propaganda for Fethullah Gulen, the preacher that Ankara accuses of orchestrating the coup attempt in 2016.
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Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
