Turkey’s oldest film festival has announced its cancellation due to controversy surrounding a documentary about the aftermath of the country’s 2016 coup attempt.
Antalya Mayor Muhittin Bocek announced the cancellation of the Golden Orange Film Festival on Friday evening, a day after Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism withdrew its support for the event.
The ministry opposed the documentary “Hükmu Eve” or “Decree”, which chronicles the struggles of a teacher and a doctor fired from their jobs following the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.
Neyla Demirci, the documentary’s director, rejected the accusation of “terrorist propaganda” and said none of the people featured had been convicted of any crime.
Following the failed coup, the government fired more than 125,000 civil servants, saying they were involved in the coup attempt and defending the move as necessary for national security.