Turkish Culture Ministry demands censorship for short film ‘The Last Schnitzel’

Turkish Culture Ministry has demanded two directors to censor their short film as condition to be able to get permission to take part in “!F İstanbul Independent Film Festival”. The two directors have refused the censorship request of the Ministry therefore the short film titled “The Last Schnitzel” will not be presented in the festival.

In a written statement, the directors of the film have announced that some scenes of the film have to be cut out as required by the Ministry in order to give “Application Registration Form” for the film. They have said since they would not allow this censorship, the film would not take place in “!F İstanbul Independent Film Festival.’

Kaan Arıcı and İsmet Kurtuluş, the directors of “The Last Schnitzel”, have said that the Ministry requested them to take out certain scenes of the film and to re-submit it to the Ministry’s board of assessment after doing the required revisions in the film in a response to their application for “Application Registration Form”. Arıcı and Kurtulmuş have refused to fulfill the censorship request of the ministry.

Therefore, the short film in which the famous Turkish actors Haluk Bilginer and Serkan Keskin shared the leading roles, would not be showed during the “!F İstanbul Independent Film Festival” and probably in other upcoming film festivals in Turkey, either.

The movies “Dersim 38”, “Berivan” (2011) and “Bakur” (2015) were not granted permission and the “Application Registration Form” previous years. The censorship policy of the ministry had drawn ire.