The ongoing feud between two significant figures in Turkish cinema has garnered widespread attention in the film world. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who came to the world's agenda after actress Merve Dizdar received the Award for Best Actress at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for her role in his movie, and Zeki Demirkubuz have a history of disagreements.
According to information compiled by an Anadolu Agency (AA) reporter, the disputes between the two accomplished directors, dating back to the 43rd Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in 2006, have become one of the most talked-about topics on social media.
The recent disagreements emerged after Nuri Bilge Ceylan published a book last month discussing his film "Winter Sleep," which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014. In the book, he made statements regarding the allegation that Zeki Demirkubuz claimed plagiarism in Ceylan's film "Three Monkeys."
Ceylan stated: "There is no such thing. Zeki knows this very well, but for some reason, he prefers to create an impression as if something like that exists. He doesn't say it explicitly; instead, he does it from a safe distance that he could easily deny, if needed. I think it's very shameful. We have been friends for so many years, and we have helped each other after all. I understand the sense of competition, but I would have expected it to be done in a more gentle manner, not by hitting below the belt. He even claimed that he didn't watch 'Three Monkeys.' How can one imply such things about a film they claim not to have watched? He tactfully executed a strategy by placing carefully calculated details in his film so that mud would stick. Judging by the impression he created in the market, it cannot be said that he has failed to achieve his goal."
"I might be the one who is belittled here, but I am not the vile," he added.
Zeki Demirkubuz, during a television program on the evening of Dec. 26, made notable statements regarding the issue. Referring to the time when his film "Destiny" won the best film award at the Antalya Film Festival in 2006, he recounted: "We were never as close friends as it was said. He wasn't someone I'd ask for bread if I were starving. But he was a friend I had contact with, like Semih Kaplanoğlu or other friends. However, I distanced myself when I felt uncomfortable, but our relationship didn't break. He made a very crude move during the editing of the movie 'Climates.' He directed that, and I made 'Destiny.'"
Demirkubuz mentioned that the award amount that year was raised to TL 300,000, which at that time equated to approximately $230,000.
"On the day of the award ceremony, while sitting in the hotel lobby, he arrived, acting weirdly. There was a guy on the jury from Cannes, a friend of his. They even joked about it there, perhaps he sensed it. Then he talked to me. Later that evening, he and his producer, his wife, sat in front of us during the ceremony but never spoke to me. I actually had a good relationship with his wife. I called out, he didn't even look. I thought maybe he had a problem. He received two awards but was very sad. Just before they announced the best film award, he fainted. They took him away, and I even tried to help.
"After the ceremony, I called to ask 'Are you okay?' he didn't talk to me and looked away two days after the day we saw each other. I wanted to slap him so I asked a close relative of his about the problem. He said Ceylan didn't talk to me because I said few words against the Cannes Film Festival. Who are you, are you the Cannes Film Festival representative?" he added.
Demirkubuz also responded to Ceylan's other statements: "It's shameful for Türkiye's only globally recognized director to stoop to such levels. I don't understand why he did something like this 15 years later. There must be some calculation, some gain behind it. That's why he did it. I didn't watch 'Three Monkeys.' I usually don't imply; if there's something, I say it directly."
Following Demirkubuz's remarks on a television channel that gained attention, Ceylan chose Twitter to respond, saying: "I was planning not to respond no matter what he says, but unfortunately, this tone makes it impossible now. He should open a YouTube channel for himself. Coming soon... "
The directors' clash continued with the following post by Demirkubuz: "If I had an ounce of trust in the society's sense of justice and inquisitiveness of these fools who claim to be oppositional, and if I weren't hesitant to become a subject of public discourse, I would have closed the account then, made you a 'national hero.' I repeat, stay where you are and keep clenching your teeth."
