Why does the Berlinale give awards? To be rewarded?

Are Berlin and the Berlinale playing a game of 'five stones'? 

As is well known, two directors with 'Turkish connections' were deemed worthy of awards at the 2026 Berlinale. We have enough reason to believe that those awards were given to the liberal left of Turkish origin—or to put it more bluntly, the Iletişim-Birikim-Radikal and even Taraf and Medyascope line—which views Turkey as an 'anomaly'.  

Let us reiterate: In Berlin, thanks are being given to those who made the awards for the two films and directors possible, and that is fine, but adding that these awards were bestowed more upon the Birikim-Radikal-Taraf-Medyascope school than the directors of Turkish origin is only fair. 

These awards will not benefit the oppressed. And the harm? We do not know yet. 

There is something else we want to say. 

Germany, it seems, has a special affinity for the dominant culture industry in Turkey, especially for those playing the role of the opposition. This is not an affinity for religious tendencies directly, but for the liberals who view those tendencies as normal and as 'potential partners.' Ultimately, to be the subject of such a compliment, they all must view Turkey as an 'anomaly'. 

What do we mean?

Let us not look into history or anything like that. Fine, about 110 years ago, in the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was in the process of collapse, the strings were in Berlin's hands, especially at the General Staff. For example: We surely know that it is no fairy tale that the arch-reactionary 'Bronsart Pasha' (Friedrich Bronsart von Schellendorf), as the man who designed the Armenian genocide, placed that ruthless 'proposed solution' in front of Enver Pasha and his associates for their signature. 

However, that relationship at the beginning of the last century was built with military, political, and economic bricks. This dependency, which buried the Ottoman Empire, left deep marks on the founding fathers of the republic. Anyway, that is in the past; let us leave it and look at today: In that period, it was not primarily a cultural bond, but specifically a political, military, and economic 'coercion' that was in question. 

Today, the situation is truly different. It is a quantitative difference: In our new Turkish, there is still a form of 'coercion,' but with more 'civilized' measures... That is, for example, through culture...

Cinema is important here. We are getting to that. 

AWARDS AND RATIONALES

The awards received by two directors from Turkey, İlker Çatak and Emin Alper, at the Berlinale must have a meaning beyond what has been announced. Both young men belong to the class of artists who do their jobs well. Good. 

But, as far as it is understood, these films are ultimately productions made with the opportunities provided by the Germany of Europe. That is how it appears. If the financial sources are disclosed and a breakdown is provided, we will see. The problem is not there. The problem is whether the works produced with these resources can have a 'subversive value' in terms of the system from which they emerged... Is there anyone here who thinks it is possible to step on the toes of the financial centers that made those films possible, or to call for the liquidation of this financial system through public pressure? 

Unlikely.

They won't buy it!

In the Middle Ages of the German language, a proverb coined for wandering minstrels who relied on the wealthy of the era serves as a warning that remains valid today: “Wes Brot ich ess, des Lied ich sing” (Whose bread I eat, his song I sing). In our culture, we have harsher versions involving “infidels, bread, and swords,” but our subject is art, so let us not delve that deep. 

Let us stay in the present.

Let us move from the Middle Ages to modern times, to monopoly capitalism, to the era of plutocracy and oligarchs: It is impossible to repeat the past. Yet, our question remains: Can an “ingrate” to the aforementioned bread exist? If we look past the rhetoric and examine the real relationships in the background, it seems impossible to answer this question in the affirmative. With few exceptions, the system cannot reward an ingrate. 

Therefore, for those who think that participants in the Berlinale who win awards with their films can produce work that will benefit the peoples/poor of Turkey and Europe, or even the “transcendent intellectuals,” we have no choice but to suggest that they thoroughly re-examine this network of relationships. 

THOSE DECLARED KINGS BY THE MEDIA... 

The roles have been reversed. Western democracy—that is, the political regimes of capitalism in its imperialist stage within the US and EU—pumps the message that everything can change through a performative opposition (“systemic opposition”) via the culture industry when crises intensify, in order to keep itself afloat. It does this through the media and “art.” Did 1989-90 not demonstrate how effective this weapon is and that it has “proven its merit”? The media seems to have moved ahead of the economy, politics, and even the military in its relationship with the masses and reality.  It appears to have surpassed them. 

This is the culture industry. It needs kings. These are the little kings it will create with awards: vassal kings. 

Admittedly, when looking at films like 'The Teachers' Lounge' (Das Lehrerzimmer), 'Sisters', and 'Beyond the Hill', we must acknowledge that Çatak and Alper are truly talented individuals. However, this does not make them 'very important' in the sense understood by the mainstream left in our country. 

Because the situation is unfolding on a different plane. 

Germany is very, very important for Turkey. It is important in a way that cannot be compared to any other imperial state, including the USA. This is a vast political space extending from the economy to geography, from military relations to demographics and cultural ties. The main carrier of this is the media.

We mentioned 'demographics.' There is a very interesting development in population movements between these two countries. Official data in Germany indicates that nearly 3.5 million people of Turkish origin live in the country. This is controversial. Because some sources, for instance a site belonging to one of the largest media groups in the country, once pointed out that there were well over 4 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany. When we include children in the equation, who have parents of Turkish origin and are part of multi-national unions, we are forced to speak of a community that far exceeds these figures. If someone were to claim that the number of people with ties to Turkey, or rather 'affiliated' with it, constitutes a weight of 6-8 million, one should not be surprised. We know that more than half of this community cannot use Turkish. But that is a separate issue. 

The real issue is this: The mobilization of such a large mass around certain demands and as a whole, attempting to raise objections, and opening some sensitive rights to debate, means that the island of stability within a hegemon in the heart of Europe is beginning to shake. Crises erode such weak points very quickly; as is well known.  

In short, the matter is very different from the 'Golden Bear' award given to the film 'Dry Summer' at the Berlin Film Festival in 1964. Although it was not considered very important back then either. But today, 62 years later, one must think about the meaning of the awards deemed worthy of, and even showered upon, 'dissident' filmmakers of Turkish origin and their films. They are cultivating a cadre. They have a great need for this. 

We are not going to give credence to low-IQ conspiracy theories that Islamist and/or Turkist circles use as a screen for their reactionism. There is no conspiracy here either. There is a class confrontation running in the depths... 

EMİN ALPER'S 'SCRIBBLING'

There are various searches and purges taking place amidst contradictions and crises. Understanding and explaining the conflicts, confrontations, alliances, and oppositions on this stage is possible if you have the right key. Unlocking social relations with these keys, asking the right questions about what is happening on stage, and producing rational answers to rational questions can become easier.  

We do not know how much Emin Alper's "literary" activities and his choices of publication outlets positively support his filmography. But it is certain that we would have difficulty saying that the signals he sends can establish a positive relationship with progressivism in Turkey. İlker Çatak, on the other hand, is a German director with roots in Turkey. We are facing two directors who are searching for a style. 

We only have the right to think and say this at the very beginning: It is not possible for us to say that these directors are "engaged" with socialism on issues such as social progress, the working class, enlightenment and secularism, the responsibility of intellectuals, the unitary state, and the republic. We cannot say this by looking at the films of theirs that we have watched either. 

In short, we are not going to turn somersaults for Çatak and Alper just because they were awarded. But we also cannot take seriously the religious/nationalist circles that try to create space for their own reactionism with dim-witted conspiracy theories. Let us state that we are positioned against these groups. 

There is a lot accumulating to talk about, discuss, and even fight over. We will return to this topic again. Is it possible for those seeking solutions abroad not to clash with a genuine progressivism that cannot internalize this into its own mind and backbone, and with a new and egalitarian republican will? Especially as the crisis deepens...

One thing is very clear: Berlin and the Berlinale are definitely not playing games. These are cadres who know very well that they will get a return for everything they give.