The final word in the controversy: Nuri Bilge Ceylan responds to Zeki Demirkubuz

The tension between two leading directors of Turkish cinema, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Zeki Demirkubuz, has returned to the agenda in recent days.

Zeki Demirkubuz had targeted Nuri Bilge Ceylan during a live broadcast he attended.

"HE SHOULD NOT BE BASE"

Demirkubuz stated that he had not watched his own film Kor or NBC's Three Monkeys, which were mentioned in allegations of film theft, and said to Ceylan: "He mentioned implications or something, he should not be base. I say it directly. I never cared because I never watched Three Monkeys and I did not want these issues to reach this point. He knows my indifference well because of other matters."

NURI BILGE CEYLAN'S RESPONSE TO DEMIRKUBUZ

Following Demirkubuz's much-discussed statements, Nuri Bilge Ceylan broke his silence.

The famous director shared a long statement on his X (Twitter) account.

Ceylan's post is as follows:

"It has not been easy to deal with a bunch of imaginary claims that have no evidence and are aimed at creating a perception.

But it is incredible that you can still say such things, even though you know that I came to the ceremony in Antalya in 2006 with a 40-degree fever and fainted due to health reasons, and that all the newspapers wrote about it at the time. As you always do, you think, 'Since such a perception has been created, I might as well take advantage of it.' Just like the accusations you made without even watching the film. That screenplay represents months of sweat and labor by three people, not just me. It should not be this easy to smear a film without even bothering to watch it just because a few people said this or that, and to play with the honor of the people who put their effort into it.

You stated that I said I hadn't watched the film Baba at the 2008 Golden Orange, and that you watched this on TV. This is not true. I said that I had watched the film Baba and loved it during the press conference in Cannes, right after its world premiere. In fact, Atilla Dorsay had asked the question. You can find the podcast on the Cannes website.

"THERE IS NO REFERENCE TO YOU IN ANY OF THEM"

There is no reference to you in any of my films in any way. I would not want to tarnish my films with such things. But I cannot deny that I think a small line Nihal says to Aydın in the film Winter Sleep describes a certain typology that you are also a part of quite well.

"Conscience, morality, ideals, being principled, the purpose of life... these words never left your mouth. When you want to belittle, hurt, or smear someone, you always say such words. But in my opinion, if a person uses these words this much, one should be suspicious of them in the first place..."

"THIS PUNISHMENT IS ALREADY ENOUGH FOR YOU"

I wrote many more things, deleted them, and gave up. Heraclitus said, "A person's character is their fate." There is nothing to be done. I will not disturb my peace and the peace of the people around me any further. And I will not write anything from now on. If a necessity arises, I will continue this through the courts. I leave you alone with your own reality. As far as I can see, this punishment is already enough for you.

I wish everyone a new year without fights or quarrels."

Bir algı oluşturmaya yönelik hiçbir kanıtı olmayan bir sürü hayal ürünü iddiayla uğraşmak kolay değilmiş.

Ama 2006 yılında Antalya’daki törene 40 derece ateşle geldiğimi, sağlık nedeniyle bayıldığımı bildiğin ve o dönemde bunu bütün gazeteler yazdığı halde hala öyle şeyler…

— Nuri Bilge Ceylan (@_nbc_) December 31, 2023

News Source: 12punto