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Fatih Akin: No Turkish actor would play slain Armenian journalist
01:08 01.08.2014
Hrant Dink, Turkey
An award-winning Turkish-German director, Fatih Akin, says he dropped
plans to make a film about an Armenian journalist murdered in 2007
because no Turkish actor wanted to play the lead role in a movie about
the hugely sensitive case, AFP reports.
In an interview with Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, Akin said he
instead turned to making another controversial film, "The Cut", which
deals with the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire
during World War I. Those slaying are seen in Armenia and several
other countries - but not by Turkey - as a genocide.
Akin said he had finished a script based on the murdered Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink -- who worked for Agos -- but he had to drop the
project after the Turkish actors he approached for the role found it
"too harsh".
Dink, 52, had campaigned for reconciliation between Turks and
Armenians, but incurred the wrath of Turkish nationalists for saying
the 1915 massacre amounted to a genocide.
He was shot dead in broad daylight by a teenage ultranationalist
outside the offices of the Agos newspaper in a crime that still has
not been fully elucidated.
Akin's difficulties in making a film about his life and death
underline the continued sensitivity of the case.
"I couldn't persuade any Turkish actors to play Hrant's role. All of
them found the script too harsh. That's why I had to cancel the
project," he said, without naming the actors.
"I did not want any actor to get hurt. But it was important to make a
'Turkish film' about Hrant. An American or French actor could not play
Hrant. We have to deal with this issue ourselves.
"But obviously the time is not yet ripe for it."
Following Akin's comments, two popular young Turkish actors took to
Twitter to lament that they had missed the chance to star as Dink.
"If I were old enough, I would have wanted to play Dink," wrote Riza
Kocaoglu, who stars in the popular Turkish drama series "Karadayi".
"I wish I could play Dink," tweeted Sarp Akkaya, who most recently
starred in "Magnificent Century", another hit Turkish television show.
Akin said Turkey was now ready, however, for a film like "The Cut",
which tells the story of an Armenian man who survives the 1915
killings and embarks on a journey across the world to find his
daughter.
"For those who are afraid of this film, I tell them: 'This is just a
film'. But I am now sure that Turkish society, of which I am a member,
is ready for this film," he said.
"The Cut", starring French actor Tahar Rahim, will premiere at Italy's
Venice International Film Festival in late August.
Co-produced by Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Poland, Canada and
Turkey, the film is the latest part of the director's Love, Death, and
the Devil trilogy, which includes the arthouse hits "Head-On" and "The
Edge of Heaven".
Dink's assassination sent shockwaves through Turkey and grew into a
wider scandal with accusations of a state conspiracy. A 17-year-old
dropout was found guilty of the murder but the Dink family have always
insisted that higher forces were involved.
Turkey's top court however ruled earlier this month that the
investigation into the killing of Dink had been flawed, paving the way
for potential further trials against new suspects.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/08/01/fatih-akin-no-turkish-actor-would-play-slain-armenian-journalist/
From: A. Papazian
01:08 01.08.2014
Hrant Dink, Turkey
An award-winning Turkish-German director, Fatih Akin, says he dropped
plans to make a film about an Armenian journalist murdered in 2007
because no Turkish actor wanted to play the lead role in a movie about
the hugely sensitive case, AFP reports.
In an interview with Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, Akin said he
instead turned to making another controversial film, "The Cut", which
deals with the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire
during World War I. Those slaying are seen in Armenia and several
other countries - but not by Turkey - as a genocide.
Akin said he had finished a script based on the murdered Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink -- who worked for Agos -- but he had to drop the
project after the Turkish actors he approached for the role found it
"too harsh".
Dink, 52, had campaigned for reconciliation between Turks and
Armenians, but incurred the wrath of Turkish nationalists for saying
the 1915 massacre amounted to a genocide.
He was shot dead in broad daylight by a teenage ultranationalist
outside the offices of the Agos newspaper in a crime that still has
not been fully elucidated.
Akin's difficulties in making a film about his life and death
underline the continued sensitivity of the case.
"I couldn't persuade any Turkish actors to play Hrant's role. All of
them found the script too harsh. That's why I had to cancel the
project," he said, without naming the actors.
"I did not want any actor to get hurt. But it was important to make a
'Turkish film' about Hrant. An American or French actor could not play
Hrant. We have to deal with this issue ourselves.
"But obviously the time is not yet ripe for it."
Following Akin's comments, two popular young Turkish actors took to
Twitter to lament that they had missed the chance to star as Dink.
"If I were old enough, I would have wanted to play Dink," wrote Riza
Kocaoglu, who stars in the popular Turkish drama series "Karadayi".
"I wish I could play Dink," tweeted Sarp Akkaya, who most recently
starred in "Magnificent Century", another hit Turkish television show.
Akin said Turkey was now ready, however, for a film like "The Cut",
which tells the story of an Armenian man who survives the 1915
killings and embarks on a journey across the world to find his
daughter.
"For those who are afraid of this film, I tell them: 'This is just a
film'. But I am now sure that Turkish society, of which I am a member,
is ready for this film," he said.
"The Cut", starring French actor Tahar Rahim, will premiere at Italy's
Venice International Film Festival in late August.
Co-produced by Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Poland, Canada and
Turkey, the film is the latest part of the director's Love, Death, and
the Devil trilogy, which includes the arthouse hits "Head-On" and "The
Edge of Heaven".
Dink's assassination sent shockwaves through Turkey and grew into a
wider scandal with accusations of a state conspiracy. A 17-year-old
dropout was found guilty of the murder but the Dink family have always
insisted that higher forces were involved.
Turkey's top court however ruled earlier this month that the
investigation into the killing of Dink had been flawed, paving the way
for potential further trials against new suspects.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/08/01/fatih-akin-no-turkish-actor-would-play-slain-armenian-journalist/
From: A. Papazian