Turkey’s breaking point of 1955 on silver screen
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 29, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL - The events of Sept. 6 and 7, also known as Istanbul Pogrom, are on the silver screen for the first time. One of the co-screenwriters of the movie is Etyen Mahçupyan, who is also the executive editor of weekly Agos newspaper and his family were eyewitnesses of the events.
The year is 1955; the calendar marks the day as the sixth of September. Thousands of people gathered at Taksim Square, broke windows and looted shops that belonged to minorities. The riot was fuelled by exaggerated news about a bombing at the house in Selanik where Atatürk was born. The nine-hour riot ended after serious damage to the city.
Afraid and desperate, minority Turkish citizens chose to leave their homeland en masse. This sad abandonment inspired a movie by Tomris Giritlioğlu and it will be in theaters Jan. 23, 53 years later. "Güz Sancısı" (Autmn Ache) is adopted from the novel of the same name by award winning author Yılmaz Karakoyunlu, who is also known for his background in politics.
One of the two scriptwriters attracts great attention to the movie: Etyen Mahçupyan, executive editor of weekly Agos newspaper. While Giritlioğlu could not answer questions because he was busy with final touches for the movie, Karakoyunlu and Mahçupyan gave exclusive answers to questions from the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review. Mahçupyan said his family were first-degree witnesses to the events. "As a result of these events, my family withdrew itself. A major trauma was experienced. I was five when the events took place."
Giritlioğlu also brought to the silver screen the agenda-setting novel by Karakoyunlu, "Salkım Hanım'ın Taneleri" (Mrs. Salkim's Diamonds), which was also about events from recent history. The movie was about the 1943 "varlık vergisi," also known as wealth tax or capital tax, which mostly non-Muslims were forced to pay.
Karakoyunlu said some people tried to give him difficulties after the movie hit the theaters, but the Turkish public did not care. "The novel’s theme was on a delicate era. I was in Parliament when it was adapted to the silver screen; later, I became the State Minister responsible for Turkish Radio and Television Corporation." The movie, however, won many awards at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.
Karakoyunlu said Turkish youth are ignorant of recent history. "The youth, in particular, have to face the realities of our country."
Karakoyunlu said the concepts of history and love are fused in novels. "When you propose an item for the agenda, if you present it only as history, its audience would be limited. Let us not forget that I am a novelist, not a historian. Therefore, I do what the art of the novel dictates."
’September 6 and 7 is Turkey’s breaking point’
Mahçupyan also said Turkish people are ignorant of recent history. "Turkish people are like a society in front of a fence. It does not have the power to remove the obstacles by itself. The sorrows are shelved instead of remembered."
Mahçupyan defined the events of Sept. 6 and 7 as "Turkey’s breaking point" and told that after this incident, non-Muslims have left Turkey en masse. "I recall a photograph from those days. It shows a woman in a fur coat with an iron bar in hand and a wild crowd accompanying her."
Mahçupyan identified the woman in the photograph with the ultra nationalists of today and concluded thus: "It is not possible to go on with your life normally after living through these incidents and my family is the best example of that."
Afraid and desperate, minority Turkish citizens chose to leave their homeland en masse. This sad abandonment inspired a movie by Tomris Giritlioğlu and it will be in theaters Jan. 23, 53 years later. "Güz Sancısı" (Autmn Ache) is adopted from the novel of the same name by award winning author Yılmaz Karakoyunlu, who is also known for his background in politics.
One of the two scriptwriters attracts great attention to the movie: Etyen Mahçupyan, executive editor of weekly Agos newspaper. While Giritlioğlu could not answer questions because he was busy with final touches for the movie, Karakoyunlu and Mahçupyan gave exclusive answers to questions from the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review. Mahçupyan said his family were first-degree witnesses to the events. "As a result of these events, my family withdrew itself. A major trauma was experienced. I was five when the events took place."
Giritlioğlu also brought to the silver screen the agenda-setting novel by Karakoyunlu, "Salkım Hanım'ın Taneleri" (Mrs. Salkim's Diamonds), which was also about events from recent history. The movie was about the 1943 "varlık vergisi," also known as wealth tax or capital tax, which mostly non-Muslims were forced to pay.
Karakoyunlu said some people tried to give him difficulties after the movie hit the theaters, but the Turkish public did not care. "The novel’s theme was on a delicate era. I was in Parliament when it was adapted to the silver screen; later, I became the State Minister responsible for Turkish Radio and Television Corporation." The movie, however, won many awards at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.
Karakoyunlu said Turkish youth are ignorant of recent history. "The youth, in particular, have to face the realities of our country."
Karakoyunlu said the concepts of history and love are fused in novels. "When you propose an item for the agenda, if you present it only as history, its audience would be limited. Let us not forget that I am a novelist, not a historian. Therefore, I do what the art of the novel dictates."
’September 6 and 7 is Turkey’s breaking point’
Mahçupyan also said Turkish people are ignorant of recent history. "Turkish people are like a society in front of a fence. It does not have the power to remove the obstacles by itself. The sorrows are shelved instead of remembered."
Mahçupyan defined the events of Sept. 6 and 7 as "Turkey’s breaking point" and told that after this incident, non-Muslims have left Turkey en masse. "I recall a photograph from those days. It shows a woman in a fur coat with an iron bar in hand and a wild crowd accompanying her."
Mahçupyan identified the woman in the photograph with the ultra nationalists of today and concluded thus: "It is not possible to go on with your life normally after living through these incidents and my family is the best example of that."