14th TRT International Documentary Awards takes place in Istanbul

Istanbul, The Gulf Observer: The 14th TRT International Documentary Awards, organised by Turkish national broadcaster TRT, has taken place in Istanbul between December 14-17 with screenings of national and international documentaries and the participation of expert guests in the field.

Throughout the four-day event, documentaries competing in various categories and special selection films were shown to audiences, contributing to enriching the documentary climate in Türkiye.

“The Lens of Democracy” received the Best Film Award in the International Category, while “Flâneur” was chosen as the Best Film in the National Professional Category.

Speaking at the ceremony, TRT General Manager Mehmet Zahid Sobaci said the event is the largest documentary film festival in Türkiye.

“A documentary is the pursuit of overlooked, hidden or forgotten truths in the ordinary course of life. It is the most profound, detailed and meaningful portrayal of the manifestations of existence on the screen,” said Sobaci.

He pointed out that it is impossible to think independently of TRT about the history and adventure of documentaries and documentary making in Türkiye “because TRT, since its establishment, has become the school of documentary making. It has trained many great masters, pioneered the formation of a documentary-loving audience, and crowned its success in this field with an Emmy award in the news documentary category in September.”

Türkiye’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun also attended the ceremony and expressed great pleasure and happiness to be present with leading documentary filmmakers from around the world.

Underscoring the great importance of telling the truth and remaining loyal to it, Altun stated that racism, hate speech, Islamophobia and the rise of xenophobia are some of the 21st century truths.

“The fact that in Gaza, not only Muslims but also humanity is being killed, and the bombing of peace and brotherhood, tranquility and stability not only in Palestine but also all over the world for more than two months in front of the eyes of the whole world is, unfortunately, a truth. From whichever angle you look, it is a truth that Israel is committing a major war crime, committing genocide, and killing more than 20,000 innocent people for over two months indiscriminately in front of the eyes of the whole world,” he added.

Altun conveyed that there exists a reality wherein certain entities, leveraging their media influence, endeavour to steer humanity towards calamity. They do so by manipulating the truth into falsehood and vice versa through the dissemination of disinformation.

He emphasised that documentary filmmaking holds a very important place in this regard, as it is a powerful way to show the unseen and make the unheard heard.

“The veterans of documentary filmmaking fulfil a very important responsibility by striving to put the truth that is intentionally or unintentionally marginalised back on track,” he said.