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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 6 2014
Turkish-German director Akın says his new movie `doesn't apologize' over Armenian issue
Zeynep Miraç
`The Cut,' Turkish-German director Fatih Akın's new movie based on the
1915 events, made its long-anticipated world premiere at the 71st
Venice Film Festival earlier this week. The film has received a mixed
response from critics so far, but Akın says it has `fulfilled its
purpose.'
The Armenians say the World War I-era mass killings under the rule of
the Ottoman Empire amounted to `genocide.' The Turkish state has
always denied this, saying that any deaths were the result of civil
strife that erupted when Armenians took up arms for independence in
eastern Anatolia.
While `The Cut' takes the traumatic 1915 events as its starting point,
what follows is a transcontinental journey story following the central
character, Nazareth, trying to reunite with his family after the
trauma of the massacres. Fatih Akın spoke to Hürriyet about the film,
his motivations behind making it, and the initial critical reaction.
Q: One of the actors in the movie, Simon Abkarian, has said `The Cut
is the movie that Armenians were waiting for.' So did you make this
movie for Armenians?
A: Actually I made the movie mostly for Turks. I'm Turkish and I made
this movie for my people. Cinema belongs to the whole world, anyone
can take whatever they want from this movie. Simon sees it that way;
he liked this movie and believed in his part in it. Maybe Armenians
were not expecting a film like this from a Turk. Maybe that's what we
were trying to imply.
Q: Why did you make this movie?
A: Who else could it have been? Don't get me wrong, I don't see myself
at center stage. [Turkish journalist] Hasan Cemal has a book on the
genocide, and I have artist friends doing work on it. There's a group
of Turks who accept this, and the group is getting bigger every day.
In terms of making a movie about it, maybe I am the first. But it
feels like day by day it's getting easier to talk about this topic.
The taboos and strictness of just 10 years ago seem weaker now.
Q: What was the reason for this softening process in your opinion?
A: Hrant's death. It feels like it led to a purification on the topic.
Thoughts of empathy became more visible in Turkey.
Q: You said Hasan Cemal's `1915: Armenian Genocide' book encouraged
you. In what sense?
A: It gave me courage to use the `genocide' word. Before that I had
developed strategies to avoid using that word when I was talking about
the happenings. Hasan Cemal broke this self-developed fear. I must
also say this: As you know, DoÄ?a Perinçek appealed to the European
Court of Human Rights arguing that rejection of the genocide should
not be considered a crime, and this objection was accepted. Actually,
this was also Hrant Dink's idea. He said `Denying the genocide
shouldn't be prohibited.' He opposed France's attitude and I also
agree with him.
Q: Everyone says that you're very brave. When you started the journey
of filming this movie, did you have to tell yourself to be brave?
A: I don't want to make anyone sad. Especially the people around me. I
have a family and what they think matters. My mother, my father, my
wife¦ I sat them in front of me and asked: `I want to do this, what do
you think?' We exchanged our ideas. If I was completely alone, if I
didn't have my family, I wouldn't have thought about anything.
Q: After an interview you gave to Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, you
received a threat from a far-right Turkish magazine. There may also
have been other threats. Has this made you fear for your life?
A: There's only been one threat and no, I'm not worried. I've worked
on this movie for seven years and I have prepared myself for these
threats. Social media should be used properly. Someone writes
something, the European media makes a big deal out of it. But the
Turkish media didn't make a big deal out of it. Outside of Turkey,
they wrote `Turkey is against the movie' just because of one guy's
comment. Turkey should take this situation seriously, because I don't
believe it is against this movie - neither the administration, nor the
government, nor the society.
Q: Another question in people's minds is: Why you didn't put the movie
out in 2015, the 100th anniversary of the events?
A: I wanted it to be released as soon as possible. That's why I
increased the tempo and finished it before 2015. Some countries, like
France, will screen it in 2015, but that's not a decision that is left
up to me.
Q: Did you shoot this movie out of feelings of responsibility, of
guilt? Is this your apology movie?
A: I do feel responsibility, yes. I wasn't born then and neither was
my father. But I belong to this society and that's what I feel
responsibility for. As for the apology, a film doesn't apologize. You
go there and you apologize. That's different¦
Q: The first reviews of the movie have been quite mixed. The Guardian
and Variety were lukewarm in their praise. What do you think about
these reviews?
A: This is a first for me. I have encountered harsh reviews for the
first time. It turns out I've been a little spoiled by critics in the
past. I had to wait until I was 41 to experience this. It's difficult
because they're criticizing my child. I have to analyse this
situation. The initial purpose of the movie was for my mother, my
father, and my friends in Turkey to like it. At the same time for
Armenian society, Armenia and the Armenian diaspora to like it. This
is actually a pretty impossible aim. I started the journey by asking,
`Could this movie act as bridge?' Could it unite those in Turkey who
accept the genocide and those who don't? That was my question.
Q: Looking at the initial responses, do you think the movie fulfilled this task?
A: I asked myself, `Will the Armenians find the movie too light?' as
it's not about what happened. My Turkish friends liked the movie too.
If you want to bring together two sides standing against each other,
you have to pay a price; maybe that price is these reviews.
Q: When you were shooting `The Cut,' was this task more important than
the cinematic language?
A: You can fulfil that task with cinema. I didn't have a concern like
`I have to prove my style.' I didn't get caught up in such an complex.
I wanted to grab the public, two groups with opposing opinions. I
think the critics were expecting something different from me, whatever
that expectation was¦
Q: Would you be offended if `The Cut' became one of those movies that
the critics severely criticize but the public is very interested in?
A: No. Maybe it really is a movie for society. I hope it is, it would
be fitting for the movie.
Q: When will it be screened in Turkey?
A: Our intention is to screen it in the autumn.
Q: Are you facing any difficulties about getting it screened?
A: The cinemas are scared about whether some people will protest? If
they sprayed tear gas during the Gezi protests because the public
peace was disrupted, then police can come and `protect' the cinemas
too.
September/06/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-german-director-akin-says-his-new-movie-doesnt-apologize-over-armenian-issue.aspx?pageID=238&nID=71369&NewsCatID=381
Sept 6 2014
Turkish-German director Akın says his new movie `doesn't apologize' over Armenian issue
Zeynep Miraç
`The Cut,' Turkish-German director Fatih Akın's new movie based on the
1915 events, made its long-anticipated world premiere at the 71st
Venice Film Festival earlier this week. The film has received a mixed
response from critics so far, but Akın says it has `fulfilled its
purpose.'
The Armenians say the World War I-era mass killings under the rule of
the Ottoman Empire amounted to `genocide.' The Turkish state has
always denied this, saying that any deaths were the result of civil
strife that erupted when Armenians took up arms for independence in
eastern Anatolia.
While `The Cut' takes the traumatic 1915 events as its starting point,
what follows is a transcontinental journey story following the central
character, Nazareth, trying to reunite with his family after the
trauma of the massacres. Fatih Akın spoke to Hürriyet about the film,
his motivations behind making it, and the initial critical reaction.
Q: One of the actors in the movie, Simon Abkarian, has said `The Cut
is the movie that Armenians were waiting for.' So did you make this
movie for Armenians?
A: Actually I made the movie mostly for Turks. I'm Turkish and I made
this movie for my people. Cinema belongs to the whole world, anyone
can take whatever they want from this movie. Simon sees it that way;
he liked this movie and believed in his part in it. Maybe Armenians
were not expecting a film like this from a Turk. Maybe that's what we
were trying to imply.
Q: Why did you make this movie?
A: Who else could it have been? Don't get me wrong, I don't see myself
at center stage. [Turkish journalist] Hasan Cemal has a book on the
genocide, and I have artist friends doing work on it. There's a group
of Turks who accept this, and the group is getting bigger every day.
In terms of making a movie about it, maybe I am the first. But it
feels like day by day it's getting easier to talk about this topic.
The taboos and strictness of just 10 years ago seem weaker now.
Q: What was the reason for this softening process in your opinion?
A: Hrant's death. It feels like it led to a purification on the topic.
Thoughts of empathy became more visible in Turkey.
Q: You said Hasan Cemal's `1915: Armenian Genocide' book encouraged
you. In what sense?
A: It gave me courage to use the `genocide' word. Before that I had
developed strategies to avoid using that word when I was talking about
the happenings. Hasan Cemal broke this self-developed fear. I must
also say this: As you know, DoÄ?a Perinçek appealed to the European
Court of Human Rights arguing that rejection of the genocide should
not be considered a crime, and this objection was accepted. Actually,
this was also Hrant Dink's idea. He said `Denying the genocide
shouldn't be prohibited.' He opposed France's attitude and I also
agree with him.
Q: Everyone says that you're very brave. When you started the journey
of filming this movie, did you have to tell yourself to be brave?
A: I don't want to make anyone sad. Especially the people around me. I
have a family and what they think matters. My mother, my father, my
wife¦ I sat them in front of me and asked: `I want to do this, what do
you think?' We exchanged our ideas. If I was completely alone, if I
didn't have my family, I wouldn't have thought about anything.
Q: After an interview you gave to Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, you
received a threat from a far-right Turkish magazine. There may also
have been other threats. Has this made you fear for your life?
A: There's only been one threat and no, I'm not worried. I've worked
on this movie for seven years and I have prepared myself for these
threats. Social media should be used properly. Someone writes
something, the European media makes a big deal out of it. But the
Turkish media didn't make a big deal out of it. Outside of Turkey,
they wrote `Turkey is against the movie' just because of one guy's
comment. Turkey should take this situation seriously, because I don't
believe it is against this movie - neither the administration, nor the
government, nor the society.
Q: Another question in people's minds is: Why you didn't put the movie
out in 2015, the 100th anniversary of the events?
A: I wanted it to be released as soon as possible. That's why I
increased the tempo and finished it before 2015. Some countries, like
France, will screen it in 2015, but that's not a decision that is left
up to me.
Q: Did you shoot this movie out of feelings of responsibility, of
guilt? Is this your apology movie?
A: I do feel responsibility, yes. I wasn't born then and neither was
my father. But I belong to this society and that's what I feel
responsibility for. As for the apology, a film doesn't apologize. You
go there and you apologize. That's different¦
Q: The first reviews of the movie have been quite mixed. The Guardian
and Variety were lukewarm in their praise. What do you think about
these reviews?
A: This is a first for me. I have encountered harsh reviews for the
first time. It turns out I've been a little spoiled by critics in the
past. I had to wait until I was 41 to experience this. It's difficult
because they're criticizing my child. I have to analyse this
situation. The initial purpose of the movie was for my mother, my
father, and my friends in Turkey to like it. At the same time for
Armenian society, Armenia and the Armenian diaspora to like it. This
is actually a pretty impossible aim. I started the journey by asking,
`Could this movie act as bridge?' Could it unite those in Turkey who
accept the genocide and those who don't? That was my question.
Q: Looking at the initial responses, do you think the movie fulfilled this task?
A: I asked myself, `Will the Armenians find the movie too light?' as
it's not about what happened. My Turkish friends liked the movie too.
If you want to bring together two sides standing against each other,
you have to pay a price; maybe that price is these reviews.
Q: When you were shooting `The Cut,' was this task more important than
the cinematic language?
A: You can fulfil that task with cinema. I didn't have a concern like
`I have to prove my style.' I didn't get caught up in such an complex.
I wanted to grab the public, two groups with opposing opinions. I
think the critics were expecting something different from me, whatever
that expectation was¦
Q: Would you be offended if `The Cut' became one of those movies that
the critics severely criticize but the public is very interested in?
A: No. Maybe it really is a movie for society. I hope it is, it would
be fitting for the movie.
Q: When will it be screened in Turkey?
A: Our intention is to screen it in the autumn.
Q: Are you facing any difficulties about getting it screened?
A: The cinemas are scared about whether some people will protest? If
they sprayed tear gas during the Gezi protests because the public
peace was disrupted, then police can come and `protect' the cinemas
too.
September/06/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-german-director-akin-says-his-new-movie-doesnt-apologize-over-armenian-issue.aspx?pageID=238&nID=71369&NewsCatID=381