The documentary film "Benim Objektifimden," or "From My Perspective," aims to examine some of the greater problems facing Turkey through the eyes of Turkish youth. This documentary allows us to learn more in depth what younger Turks think when it comes to the role of religion in politics, how American policies affect their lives and how they perceive Turkey's approach toward the EU accession talks, as well as their general views on a variety of social and economic questions. It also sheds some light on how the youth of Turkey might wind up shaping the nation's future. Another interesting aspect to this documentary is the glimpse it provides into what kind of relations the Turkish students who are working on the post-production of the films they made about Turkey and their views of the nation will form with American students and their cultures. The backbone of this documentary is formed by the life stories of six young Turks living in six cities in different regions of Turkey -- Konya, Sivas, Edirne, Antakya, Artvin and Mardin -- and how they are making their own films. In fact, "Benim Objektifimden" is about a group of high school and university students in different spots in Turkey making their own short documentaries and story-telling films. The topics of these films are things like democracy, human rights, women's problems and economic development. Turkish directors went to these six cities offering to train Turkish students how to do this. And interestingly, the documentary covers the whole process involved, from the initial selection of the students to the conferences, the debates in classrooms over social issues, the students themselves, the difficulties encountered when making the short films, the problems in convincing both the families and institutions involved, the culture shock experienced when the students finally went to the US to visit the State University of New York at Fredonia and even the students' reactions to each others' films at the film festival that brought them together at the end. The larger scheme of the documentary is based on the selection of 18 students who will attend a two-week learning program in the US, though this documentary really follows only six of these students. Throughout most of this documentary, the camera remains as a sort of "fly on the wall," avoiding any direct involvement in the way things developed and unfolded.
At the end of the project followed by this documentary, there will be 18 short films. These films will allow us to better understand what Turkish youth make of the world around them and Turkey. The documentary takes viewers to the shopping streets of the cities where its six subjects live, and you get to see local foods and social life as it occurs in these spots. Edirne is shown as a city that reflects all of its important Ottoman past in its magnificent architecture. Konya is a city that was home to Mevlana, a shining historical light of the philosophy of tolerance. Sivas was not only the capital of the Selçuks, but a city that played a very important role in the founding of the republic. And then there is Artvin, a part of the southern Caucasus, with incredible natural surroundings and architecture that is sumptuous, but which also reflects years of neglect. And, of course, the documentary also takes you through Antakya, which came only after Rome in terms of cities crucial to the ancient times, and has thousands of years of tradition. In short, these cities all contribute to the general aesthetics of this documentary and transport you into a journey through the cultural riches of Turkey at the same time.
The project "Benim Objektifimden" is striking in terms of the steps forward it brings us in our understanding of how the Turkish youth put into images their perceptions of their nation, the world around them and the Turkey of tomorrow. The project director was Nefin Dinç, the visual director was Koray Kesik and the sound technician was Ömer Küç; I would like to congratulate each of them for their important work.
