ISTANBUL (AP) 鈥� Turkey鈥檚 oldest film festival has been thrown into turmoil after jury members resigned and filmmakers withdrew their work from the competition over accusations of censorship.
The producers and directors of 27 entries at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival on Wednesday announced they were pulling out, days after 20 members of the festival jury quit over the organizers鈥� removal of a documentary.
鈥淜anun Hukmu,鈥� or 鈥淭he Decree,鈥� focuses on a teacher and doctor dismissed from their jobs under the state of emergency imposed in Turkey following an attempted coup in 2016.
Festival director Ahmet Boyacioglu said the documentary had been removed from the national documentary film category because of ongoing legal proceedings against one of the people featured.
鈥淔or this reason, it has been decided to exclude the film from this year鈥檚 selection in order not to affect the judicial process and impartiality,鈥� he said.
However, the film鈥檚 director, Nejla Demirci, said that was an 鈥渆xcuse鈥� and 鈥渙utright censorship.鈥�
The festival, which has been run since 1963 in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, is a highlight of the Turkish cultural calendar. This year it is due to run from Oct. 7-14.
Demirci has received support from across the arts world in Turkey.
The Free Art Assembly, which represents artists across many fields, described the film鈥檚 exclusion as 鈥渁n assault on artistic expression and creativity and a move to normalize censorship across artistic fields.鈥�
The filmmakers who withdrew from the festival called for respect for the freedom of expression.
鈥淲e see it as a clear threat,鈥� they said in a statement. 鈥淲e think that it is unacceptable for festivals, which essentially belong to society, to submit to censorship.鈥�
More than 130,000 people were fired from their jobs through emergency decrees following the July 2016 coup attempt. The authorities said they were linked to the group behind the coup, but critics have alleged a general crackdown against anyone viewed as opponents by the government.
The Associated Press
