Hit movie faced no censorship

The film that is in theaters in Turkey is 120 minutes long and does not have some scenes about Kurds because the General Staff found them inconvenient, according to a story daily Sabah wrote last week. However, the film’s longer version of 131 minutes has been sent to festivals abroad including those scenes, the daily wrote. The production company in a written statement said the copies sent abroad were not 11 minutes longer than the original version. "The scenario that some scenes of the Turkey copy of the film were found inconvenient and censored, and that those scenes are in the festival versions of the film, is all wrong," Tokat said in the statement. The original version of the film, lasting 120 minutes was sent abroad, Tokat said.

Controversial movie

Mahsun Kırmızıgül, a singer with Kurdish roots, wrote and directed the movie. The film attracted intense attention in Turkey and was considered a "brave" film by some critics because it touched on the Kurdish issue, while some others criticized the film as not touching the essence of the issue. Kırmızıgül had said he took the advice of many people while writing the movie, including State Minister Cemil Çiçek, leading to other criticism about the movie.