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ANKARA: Two Weeks To Film A Short About 'Conscience'

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  • ANKARA: Two Weeks To Film A Short About 'Conscience'

    TWO WEEKS TO FILM A SHORT ABOUT 'CONSCIENCE'
    Emrah Guler

    Hurriyet
    Aug 28, 2011
    Turkey

    For the second year, the Hrant Dink Foundation is asking amateur and
    professional filmmakers to upload short films on 'conscience.' The
    Hurriyet Daily News talked to Films about Conscience project
    coordinator Denca Kartun about the project's message

    The 'Films About Conscience' is organized by the Hrant Dink Foundation
    that was founded in 2007 after the assassination of journalist
    Hrant Dink.

    What is it like to be a lonely woman walking on a roadside, or to be
    a physically challenged person on a "normal" street? What is it like
    to be a little boy watching his father's hand rise to strike a blow?

    What is it like to be a young girl who dares to wear a headscarf
    in high school? To be a woman imprisoned in her own home, trying
    to survive perpetual violence? To be homosexual or transsexual in a
    world that imprisons sex and sexuality in sealed boxes?

    These are some of the questions raised by Films about Conscience
    (www.filmsaboutconscience.org), a short film project being organized
    by the Hrant Dink Foundation for a second year that asks anyone with
    a camera to "take a look at the world through our conscience."

    The list on the project's website might serve as inspiration for
    professionals familiar with a video camera or those with an amateur
    spirit who might prefer to use their mobile telephones to join an
    effort that seeks to lend a collective voice to the "other."

    According to Denca Kartun, the project coordinator at the Hrant
    Dink Foundation for the Films about Conscience project, words by the
    assassinated Armenian-Turkish journalist inspired the project. "The
    voice of conscience has been sentenced to silence. Now, that conscience
    is searching for a way out," said Dink, who was killed Jan.

    19, 2007.

    Dink's words kick-started the film project "because he looked at
    the world differently, through his conscience, directing the way
    toward conscience," Kartun said. "We believe and are very well aware
    that conscience opens all doors, it serves as a guide. That's why we
    think we can reach a more just, more free and more equal world that
    we dream of through lending a voice to our conscience and listening
    to the conscience of the others."

    A competition and much more

    So why use short films as a tool to lend a voice to conscience?

    "Taking into consideration the substantial role and influence of the
    camera and the Internet in our daily lives, we thought the best way to
    have this voice heard would be through short films," Kartun said. "We
    are calling on everyone who knows how to hold a camera, amateur or
    professional, to take a look at the world through their conscience."

    The project coordinator also talked about the power of film, compared
    to other mediums, to relay such a message. "Conscience is a determining
    force in our struggle toward humanity. To visualize now has more of
    a direct impact, [it is a] more powerful and preferred way than to
    write or talk about [something]," Kartun said. "You can talk about
    conscience for hours, and write page after page about it. But with a
    short film, a little film about conscience, you can reach hundreds,
    [even] thousands of people around the world. It's all about the power
    of film."

    Films about Conscience is a competition, but also much more. Everyone
    is invited to upload videos of no more than five minutes to the
    project's website. Visitors are encouraged to vote for their favorite
    entries and publish comments on the films.

    Following the Sept. 15 deadline, two separate results will be announced
    Dec. 10. One film will be the people's choice and another 20 will be
    selected by a jury.

    Entries from both this year and last year can be viewed on the project
    website. The popularity of these short films can be seen through the
    increasing demand from film festivals. Last year's winners have been
    screened at the Istanbul International Film Festival, the Gaziantep
    Onat Kutlar Film Festival, the Dersim Human Rights Film Festival and
    the Yerevan Golden Apricot Film Festival.

    The next stop for screenings will be Ankara in September, and then New
    York in November. The selected films will also be compiled for a DVD,
    with the producer of the winning film awarded with a scholarship by
    the Hrant Dink Foundation.

    What should prospective filmmakers take into consideration with two
    weeks left to go until the submission deadline? "There are two things
    to consider: One, the films must not be more than five minutes long.

    And second, the films should be on the theme of conscience. If you
    follow these criteria, all films are eligible to be included into
    the competition," said Kartun. "We would also like to emphasize
    that the competition is open to alll. The only criterion is to have
    a conscience."



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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