When speaking about the cinematography of the Turkic world that we have a historical and cultural connection with, the following main regions can be defined: the independent Turkic republics (Turkey, TRNC, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan), a number of federal subjects of Russia (Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Dagestan, and the Republic of Sakha), Iranian Azerbaijan and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
The cinema of the independent Turkic Republics located in Central Asia and the Caucasus can be divided into two periods: the former Soviet period and after. The cinema of other autonomous republics/federal subjects and communities is accepted within the cinema of the states in which they are located. However, it illustrates the unique characteristics due to the national features preserved.
The Turkic republics that gained their independence after the collapse of the former Soviet Union have recently begun to take a prominent role in the changing cultural and political life.
The Turkic world has artists who can create their own unique products by combining traditional cultural codes and folkloric features with modern arts. Turkic artists continue to make art by combining the cultural codes of their settings with unique local characteristics. Turkic filmmakers who used to live in the former USSR have succeeded in creating films in which the aesthetic codes of the past Soviet cinema is skillfully combined with the Turkic cultural life
Today’s Turkic communities share a common historical background, social characteristics, and cultural structures. Despite these common features, their cultural works are different as they live across a vast territory. Among cultural products and arts, one of the most prominent industries without a doubt is cinema. So, the main purpose of this event is to bring together the cinematic products (films) and the knowledge accumulated by these societies within the framework of the festival here, in Istanbul:
-
To present qualified fundamental works and share a vision of the Turkic world;
-
To introduce and to bring together on the silver screen the Turkic world with the help of the cinema sector, which has now become a global strategic sector;
-
To organize a thematic festival with its own unique identity along with the existed film festivals in our country;
-
To introduce the audience to cinematic products with our own cultural codes, aside from the narrative characteristics of dominant American cinema.
-
To draw attention to the atmosphere of films that reflect rich spiritual, cultural, historical, and literary heritage of the Turkic world among the bright colors of world cinema;
-
To develop the existing connections between Turkic countries and communities in the fields of art and culture through the art of cinema. To contribute to strengthening, deepening, and enrichment of common historical, cultural, civic, religious, and social values through cinematic products;
-
To create a meeting platform for experts in film and television production working in Turkic countries and communities in Istanbul, the center of Eurasia, to strengthen the communication and cooperation between them;
-
To develop cooperation between Turkish countries and communities in the field of cinematography, to pave the way for joint cinema production and the circulation of cinema works.
-
To help to encourage mainstream film production in Turkey;
-
To emphasize that Istanbul is actually the cultural capital of the Turkic world.
