Film on Turkish artists living in Europe
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 30, 2009 00:00
COLOGNE - A documentary aimed at illustrating the talent and culture of Turkish artists living in Europe will be introduced to Europeans, hopefully altering the perception of Turks there.
Produced by Mustafa Birkan and directed by Olgun Özdemir, the 120-minute documentary titled "Colors of Anatolia" will air on German TV channels and feature the lives and work of nine Turkish artists living in Europe who practice in the fields of painting, music, sculpture and shadow theater.
Birkan, who delivered a speech at a press meeting in Cologne, said it was shameful that real artists were behind the scenes in a time when everyone can believes they can be an artist. "We don’t know the difference between being famous and being an artist. I call a person who has international success and promotes his or her country abroad an artist. Thanks to this project, we aim at introduce real artists to Europeans. We will show in this documentary what Turks can do," Birkan said.
Director Özdemir said the project is something they’re very proud of, adding that they want to serve Turkish culture by completing it. "Societies that give importance to art and artists always develop. Anyone can paint a drawing, but not like a painter. Anyone can write, but it is important to write something that everyone can read even after many years. Anyone can sing a song, but it is not easy to become a singer. Just like Mustafa Kemal Atatürk once said, ’A nation devoid of art and artists cannot have a full existence.’"
Özdmie said nine out of 27 artists living in Europe were chosen for the documentary. Eight of the artists are Arzu Canpolat, Havva Erdem, Osman Akçit, Yasemin Yılmaz, Tarık Sarzep, Ali Köken, Mustafa Birkan and Cafer Kılıç, and the ninth one should be made clear in the coming days.
Turkey with its old and new face
Yaşar Yıldız, the coordinator of the project, said the goal was to show how Turkey survives in Europe with its old and new face. "This will be shown through these artists living in Vienna, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Konstanz," he said.
"Turkish-origin people who have been living away from Turkey for more than 50 years have never given up expressing their longing for the country," Yıldız said. "We want to show Europeans that there are many artists among the Turkish people, who are often shown as barbarians. I hope we won’t use the world ’Almancı’ (the word used for Turks living in Germany) after this documentary."
The shooting of the documentary will start in February and is set to finish in two months. It will be aired on the German-French station Arte, and German ARD, ZDF, WDR and MD stations. The documentary’s budget is 125,000 euros and will be prepared in four languages, Turkish, German, English and French. Music for the film will be composed by Hüseyin Köroğlu and Tarık Sarzep.
Birkan, who delivered a speech at a press meeting in Cologne, said it was shameful that real artists were behind the scenes in a time when everyone can believes they can be an artist. "We don’t know the difference between being famous and being an artist. I call a person who has international success and promotes his or her country abroad an artist. Thanks to this project, we aim at introduce real artists to Europeans. We will show in this documentary what Turks can do," Birkan said.
Director Özdemir said the project is something they’re very proud of, adding that they want to serve Turkish culture by completing it. "Societies that give importance to art and artists always develop. Anyone can paint a drawing, but not like a painter. Anyone can write, but it is important to write something that everyone can read even after many years. Anyone can sing a song, but it is not easy to become a singer. Just like Mustafa Kemal Atatürk once said, ’A nation devoid of art and artists cannot have a full existence.’"
Özdmie said nine out of 27 artists living in Europe were chosen for the documentary. Eight of the artists are Arzu Canpolat, Havva Erdem, Osman Akçit, Yasemin Yılmaz, Tarık Sarzep, Ali Köken, Mustafa Birkan and Cafer Kılıç, and the ninth one should be made clear in the coming days.
Turkey with its old and new face
Yaşar Yıldız, the coordinator of the project, said the goal was to show how Turkey survives in Europe with its old and new face. "This will be shown through these artists living in Vienna, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Konstanz," he said.
"Turkish-origin people who have been living away from Turkey for more than 50 years have never given up expressing their longing for the country," Yıldız said. "We want to show Europeans that there are many artists among the Turkish people, who are often shown as barbarians. I hope we won’t use the world ’Almancı’ (the word used for Turks living in Germany) after this documentary."
The shooting of the documentary will start in February and is set to finish in two months. It will be aired on the German-French station Arte, and German ARD, ZDF, WDR and MD stations. The documentary’s budget is 125,000 euros and will be prepared in four languages, Turkish, German, English and French. Music for the film will be composed by Hüseyin Köroğlu and Tarık Sarzep.