On Thursday, 2 September, the third edition of Taste of Anatolia – Films from Turkey gets underway. This year, the festival is screening 38 movies, the vast majority of them making their UK premiere. As Britain’s only independent Turkish film festival, this four day event offers Turkish cinema lovers the chance to see a highly […]
If you’re looking for films beyond the obvious choices, this week-long movie fest packed with gems produced by upcoming directors and screened at some of the world’s best film festivals is guaranteed quality viewing. ‘Cut Short, Live Long’ (CSLL) is a new annual short film festival that will be making its digital debut simultaneously in London, […]
During the 1970s and 80s, Turkish cinema regularly churned out low-budget versions of Hollywood box office smashes and American television hit series. Star Wars, Star Trek, The Exorcist, E.T., and Superman were among those to get an often unauthorised Turkish makeover. These B-movies, often referred to as “Turksploitation”, are not only endearing to Turks, but […]
On this day twenty years ago, actor Kemal Sunal suffered a fatal heart attack as he boarded an early morning domestic flight from Istanbul to the Black Sea city of Trabzon. He was just 55 years old. Sunal is said to have had a lifelong fear of flying and had not been on a plane […]
Yıldız Kenter, one of Turkey’s biggest stars of cinema and theatre, has died in Istanbul at the age of 91. The multi award-winning actress had been battling lung disease and was in intensive care at the American Hospital when she passed away on Sunday, 17 November. During an illustrious career spanning sixty years, Kenter appeared […]
Now in its second year and growing fast, Taste of Anatolia – Films from Turkey brings together the creative energy of a new generation of talent from Turkey. Not only does the festival provide a crucial platform, but it champions underrepresented voices by celebrating the power of independent cinema. Founded by the charity Balık Arts, the […]
After a successful debut in 2018, Taste of Anatolia – Films From Turkey (TAFFT) returns in the autumn with a second foray into the world of Turkish cinema. Presented by Cambridge-based film charity Balik Arts, and championed by top Turkish actor Cengiz Bozkurt and talented filmmaker TuğbaTirpan, the festival will again screen a contemporary mix […]
On Wednesday, 23 January, Ayşen Gruda died in Istanbul aged 74 after fighting against pancreas cancer for one-and-a-half years. She had been in intensive care for the past month before she passed away. She was one of a handful of female comedians in Turkey and among the nation’s favourite actresses. A statement issued by Kağıthane […]
This Friday, the brand new 2K scan of the 1982 Turkish cult film The Man Who Saves the World, best known to fans as the Turkish Star Wars, is set to have its world premiere simultaneously at The Cinema Museum in London and the CCA in Glasgow. Friday, May 4 is officially Star Wars […]
Last month, the long-running London Turkish Film Festival announced it was turning to crowd-funding to help keep it going. So far the campaign has raised just under £1,500. As we enter the last week of the fundraising campaign, we give our readers ten good reasons to support this important festival. 1) LTFF programming puts spotlight […]
