Master producer Arif Keskiner laid to rest
A funeral prayer was held at Teşvikiye Mosque for Arif Keskiner, the famous producer of Yeşilçam films. Keskiner was laid to rest at the Kilyos Demirciköy Cemetery.
AA
The funeral was attended by famous names including Zafer Algöz, Hüseyin Avni Danyal, Kadir İnanır, Kerem Alışık, Talat Bulut, Bedri Baykam, Kubat, Berhan Şimşek, Gürsel Tekin, and Menderes Samancılar.
Turkish Publishers Association President Kenan Kocatürk, in his statement to the AA reporter, said, "Arif Keskiner is actually known as a filmmaker, but the Çiçek Bar, which he opened as the Cinema Lovers Association, is perhaps an important venue where all the people of cultural life come together, and where literature and art are discussed. I think that if there is a concept of a beautiful person raised by these lands, he is one of the important people who fulfills the definition of this beautiful person concept."
Emphasizing that Keskiner was very loyal and friendly, Kocatürk noted the following:
"No one could recite the poems and folk songs that are the value of these lands better than him. I am happy to have been in his circle of friends and to have published his books. I saw in him what goodness is, what it means to live a beautiful life, and to continue life as a beautiful person. That is why, while saying goodbye to him, I said farewell with the lyrics of a folk song. There was a folk song that ended with 'There is death, there is no separation.' He will continue to live in the most exceptional places of our memories."
Actor Kerem Alışık also stated that Keskiner had a love for humanity in his heart, saying, "He was a person who made flowers bloom in our souls. May he rest in peace."
Following the funeral prayer, Keskiner was laid to rest at the Kilyos Demirciköy Cemetery.
WHO IS ARIF KESKİNER?
A journalist, actor, publishing house manager, cinema reporter, film director, and even a photo-novel writer, but most of all, a film producer... One of the most unique filmmakers of Turkish cinema, "Çiçek Arif," whose path crossed with almost all the important names of Yeşilçam in one way or another...
Arif Keskiner, who received the Cinema Honorary Award at the 37th Istanbul Film Festival in 2018, had a life story as colorful as it was enviable, starting in the Osmaniye district of Adana in 1938 and extending to Yeşilçam Street in Beyoğlu. He took his first step into cinema in 1959 with the role of a postman in the film "Cilalı İbo Perili Köşkte," directed by Osman Nuri Ergün.
In 1971, he decided to become a filmmaker and founded Ekta Film; in 1972, his first film as a producer, "Bela Mustafa," was directed by Fevzi Tuna. Among the unique films he brought to Turkish cinema as a producer are "Otobüs" (Tunç Okan), "Kapıcılar Kralı" (Zeki Ökten), "Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım" (Atıf Yılmaz), "Maden" (Yavuz Özkan), "Köşeyi Dönen Adam" (Atıf Yılmaz), the TRT series "Bay Alkolü Takdimimdir," and "Piyano Piyano Bacaksız" (Tunç Başaran), to which he also contributed to the screenplay. By founding the Film Producers Cooperative, he became the president who eliminated the black market in Yeşilçam.
While serving as vice president at SESAM, he participated in commission meetings at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara together with Türker İnanoğlu and Tanju Gürsu, ensuring the enactment of the Cinema Law.
In his office in Sıraselviler, he opened the Cinema Lovers Association Local, which everyone called Çiçek Bar or Arif's Place, and which was a frequent destination for all filmmakers and artists.
He told his entire past without any lies in four books titled "Çiçek Gibi," "Yine mi Çiçek," "Elbette Çiçek," and "Binbir Renk Binbir Çiçek." Arif Keskiner, one of the festival's constant supporters and ancient friends, is one of the most important cornerstones of Turkish cinema.
Arif Keskiner passed away on March 12, 2024.