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Mrs. Salkm's Diamonds
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Wikipedia article
'Mrs. Salkm's Diamonds' is a 1999 Turkish drama film, directed by Tomris Giritliolu. It is based on the historical novel Mrs. Salkim's Diamonds by Ylmaz Karakoyunlu. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on 19 November 1999, won awards at film festivals in Antalya and Istanbul, including the Golden Orange Award for Best Film. This film was submitted to Turkey's 72nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Novel
The novel 'Mrs. Salkm's Diamonds' ('Salkm Hanmn Taneleri'), written by Turkish author and ANAP party member Yilmaz Karakoyunlu in 1990, recounts stories and witnesses of the non-Muslims during the Varlik Vergisi. The novel was developed into a film in 1999.
Film
The film is set during the period of the Varlik Vergisi where many non-Muslims were forced to pay higher taxes, often in an arbitrary and unrealistic way. Around two thousand non-Muslims, who could not pay the amount demanded for the tax within the time-limit of thirty days, were arrested and sent to a forced labor camp in Akale in the Erzurum Province of eastern Turkey. Twenty-one of these laborers died there.
The movie language is in Turkish, however some scenes include Armenian. The film follows the plight of one family and traces how they were affected by the tax and other policies directed at non-Muslim ethnic minorities. The plot has a young Armenian man named Levon who is sent to Askale along with a man who considered himself ethnic Turkish, only to find out that there was Jewish ancestry in his bloodline (donme). Nora, an Armenian woman who was raped, kills herself and her baby because she did not want to bear a child of an involuntary pregnancy.
Production
The film was shot on location in Akale, Bykada and Mardin.
Cast
*'Hlya Avar' as 'Nora'
*'Kamran Usluer' as 'Halit Bey'
*'Zuhal Olcay' as 'Nefise'
*'Uur Polat' as 'Levon'
*'Derya Alabora' as 'Nimet'
*'Gven Kra' as 'Bekir'
*'Zafer Algz' as 'Durmu'
*'Murat Daltaban' as 'Clarinetist Artin'
Awards
Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival
*Best Picture '(Golden Orange)': Tomris Giritliolu*Best Actor: Uur Polat
*Best Music: Tamer ray
*Best Art Direction: Ziya Ulkenciler
*Best Film Editing: Mevlt Kocak
Istanbul International Film Festival
*Best Actor: Gven Kra[http://www.iksv.org/film/english/press_release.asp?cid=4&ms=6 Istanbul Film Festival awards] , retrieved 2008-08-08Reactions
Ahmet akar, a member of Parliament from the MHP, was outraged at the screening and believed it is indecent and unacceptable under the guidance of nationalism.
See also
*List of Turkish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
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