DOCUMENTARIST
One film festival and three demonstrations tell me something about Istanbul.
Turkey
TURKISH WOMEN’S OUTLOOK: From the Bridge between East and West
Although there is practically no market for documentary films in Turkey, a vivid, independent film scene has developed over the past few years, reflecting the lebensgefühl and the social and political awareness of filmmakers who grew up in the dual culture of a country struggling to define its pivotal place as a bridge between East and West.
Not a Word about Belly Dancing
TUE STEEN MÜLLER visited Istanbul just before the Iraq War started. He found an isolated, politically engaged, relatively big documentary community that organizes a festival, a conference and numerous other promotional activities all based on a cultural political vision. A community of activists who prefer to debate the filmmaker’s role in society rather than dwell on new aesthetic developments and production budgets.