Yesilçam (“Green pine”) is a metonym for the Turkish film industry, similar to Hollywood in the United States, and Pinewood in the United Kingdom. Yeşilçam is named after Yeşilçam Street in theBeyoğlu district of Istanbul where many actors, directors, crew members and studios were based.
Yeşilçam experienced its heyday during the 1950s-1970s, when it produced 250-350 films annually. After the 1970s, Yeşilçam suffered due to the spread of television in Turkey. However, Yeşilçam has seen a revival since 2002, having produced critically acclaimed movies such as Uzak (Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival), 2003), Babam ve Oğlum and Propaganda.
Turkish actors most commonly associated with Yeşilçam include:
- Adile Naşit
- Altan Günbay
- Atilla Ergün
- Ayhan Işık
- Ayşen Gruda
- Aytaç Arman
- Baki Tamer
- Belgin Doruk
- Bilal İnci
- Cüneyt Arkın
- Ediz Hun
- Ekrem Bora
- Erol Taş
- Fatma Girik
- Filiz Akın
- Göksel Arsoy
- Gülşen Bubikoğlu
- Hakkı Kıvanç
- Hale Soygazi
- Halit Akçatepe
- Hulusi Kentmen
- Hülya Koçyiğit
- Hüseyin Baradan
- İzzet Günay
- Kadir İnanır
- Kartal Tibet
- Kemal Sunal
- Metin Akpınar
- Münir Özkul
- Nejat Gürçen
- Nilüfer Aydan
- Sadri Alışık
- Semra Sar
- Şener Şen
- Tarık Akan
- Türkan Şoray
- Yılmaz Güney
- Zeki Alasya
- Zeynep Değirmencioğlu
Between 1950 and 1966, more than fifty movie directors practiced film arts in Turkey. Ömer Lütfi Akad strongly influenced the period, but Osman Fahir Seden, Atıf Yılmaz, and Memduh Ün made the most films. The film Susuz Yaz (Dry Summer), made by Metin Erksan, won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1964.
The number of cinemagoers and the number of films made record a constant increase, especially after 1958. In the 1960s, cinema courses were included in the programs of the theater departments in the Language, History and Geography faculties of Ankara University and Istanbul University, and in the Press and Publications High School of Ankara University. A cinema branch was also established in the Art History Department of the State Fine Arts Academy.
The Union of Turkish Film Producers, and the State Film Archives also were established in the 1960s. The State Film Archives became the Turkish Film Archives in 1969. During the same period, the Cinema-TV Institute was founded and annexed to the State Academy of Fine Arts. The Turkish State Archives also became part of this organization. In 1962, the Cinema-TV Institute became a department of Mimar Sinan University. Among the well-known directors of the 1960–1970 period are Metin Erksan, Atıf Yılmaz, Memduh Ün, Halit Refiğ, Duygu Sağıroğlu, Remzi Aydın Jöntürk andNevzat Pesen. In 1970, the numbers of cinemas and cinemagoers rose spectacularly. In 2,424 cinemas, films were viewed by a record number of 247 million viewers.
In 1970, approximately 220 films were made and this figure reached 300 in 1972. Turkish cinema gave birth to its legendary stars at this period, notable examples being Kemal Sunal, Kadir İnanır,Türkan Şoray and Şener Şen. After this period however, the cinema began to lose its audiences, due to nationwide TV broadcasts. After 1970, a new and young generation of directors emerged, but they had to cope with an increased demand for video films after 1980.
[edit]Decline of Yeşilçam and the post-Yeşilçam era
Increased production costs and difficulties faced in the import of raw materials brought about a decrease in the number of films made in the 1970s, but the quality of films improved. However, the fall of cinema’s popularity continued. In the early nineties, there were barely two or three movies released for a year. During this period, most of the seventies’ stars had either moved to TV, or were trying to rebuild the Yeşilçam’s former glory. Some of the notable examples of this era are Eşkıya (English: The Bandit) and Züğürt Ağa (English: The Agha), both starring Şener Şen. Both movies were critically and commercially acclaimed.
However, the rise of Yesilçam didn’t take place until the release of Vizontele. The film was directed, written, and starred by Yılmaz Erdoğan, who was praised by his long-running sit-com Bir Demet Tiyatro, and his dedication to theatre. The movie starred the cast of his usual plays, most notably Demet Akbağ, Altan Erkekli, and Cem Yılmaz. This movie’s huge commercial success (watched by 2.5 million viewers, which earned the movie the most viewed film for its day) brought attention to the industry. A few years later, Cem Yılmaz released his own film, G.O.R.A., which he both wrote and starred in. This, and Vizontele’s sequel Vizontele Tuuba broke Vizontele’s records, by achieving 3.5, and 3 million viewers respectively.
Since then larger-budgeted films produced, notable examples being Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak (English: Valley of the Wolves: Iraq), continuing the story of the controversial series Kurtlar Vadisi, (reached 4 million viewers and still holds the record), Babam ve Oğlum (English: My Father and My Son), Cem Yılmaz’s second movie Hokkabaz (English: The Magician) .
There has been a rise in more experimental films in the 2000s. Notably the 2005 feature Türev was filmed without a prewritten script and even featured candid shots of the actors. Anlat Istanbul(Istanbul Tales), an ensemble piece divided into five “mini films” got a strong reception.
The production numbers also soared in the second half of the 2000s, with 40 films in 2007, and top 4 box office hits in 2007 claimed by Turkish films, as the film industry became profitable again with improving technical quality corresponding with commercial films’ production costs increasing.[7]
