15/06/2026
The Cinema of Turkey or Turkish cinema (also formerly known as Yeşilçam, which translates literally to Green Pine in Turkish), (Turkish pronunciation: [jeˈʃiltʃam]) or Türk sineması refers to the Turkish film art and industry. It is an important part of Turkish culture, and has flourished over the years, delivering entertainment to audiences in Turkey, Turkish expatriates across Europe, the Balkans & Eastern Europe, also more recently prospering in the Arab world alongside the Egyptian cinema and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the world.[5][6]
The first film exhibited in the Ottoman Empire was the Lumière Brothers' 1895 film, L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat, which was shown in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) in 1896. The Weavers (1905), by the Manaki brothers, was the first film made in the country. The earliest surviving film made in what is present-day Turkey was a documentary entitled Ayastefanos'taki Rus Abidesinin Yıkılışı (Demolition of the Russian Monument at San Stefano), directed by Fuat Uzkınay and completed in 1914. The first narrative film in Turkey is not known for certain.[7]
Turkey's first sound film, Bir Millet Uyanıyor, was shown in 1931.[8] Western dramatic elements were incorporated into improvised traditional Turkish theatrical storytelling forms such as Meddah, orta oyunu, and Karagöz and Hacivat with the foundations of the Darülbedayi in 1914 and Ankara State Conservatory in 1936.[9][10][11] Due to their training format, theater actors moved away from cinema or they only did dubbing. Turkish cinema started to evolve in the 1960s. During the Yeşilçam era, Turkey was the world's 4th biggest producer of cinema.[12][13]
History
Overview
The Weavers (1905 film), by the Manaki brothers, was the first film made in the Ottoman Empire . 15-second clip showing the 114-year-old Despina Manaki spinning.
Ayastefanos′taki Rus Abidesinin Yıkılışı is a documentary filmed in 1914.
In terms of film production, Turkey shared the same fate with many of the national cinemas of the 20th century. Film production wasn't continuous until around the 1950s and the film market in general was run by a few major import companies that struggled for domination in the most population-dense and profitable cities such as Istanbul and İzmir. Film theatres rarely ever screened any locally produced films and the majority of the programs consisted of films of the stronger western film industries, especially those of the United States, France, Italy and Germany. Attempts at film production came primarily from multinational studios, which could rely on their comprehensive distribution networks together with their own theatre chains, thus guaranteeing them a return on their investment. Between the years 1896–1945, the number of locally produced films did not even reach 50 films in total, equal to less than a single year's annual film production in the 1950s and 1960s. Domestically produced films constituted only a small fraction of the total number of films screened in Turkey prior to the 1950s.
Film production in Turkey increased drastically after World War II. With a total of 49 films produced in 1952, this single year equaled a greater output produced in Turkey than all previous years combined. During the 1960s, Turkey became the fifth biggest film producer worldwide as annual film production reached the 300-film benchmark just at the beginning of the 1970s. Compared to other national cinemas, the achievements of the Turkish film industry after 1950 are still remarkable.
During the 1970s, the impact of TV and video as the new popular forms of media and political turmoil (often hand in hand with deep economic crises) caused a sharp drop in ticket sales, resulting in a steady decline starting around 1980 and continuing until the mid-1990s. The number of annual ticket sales decreased from a peak of 90 million tickets in 1966[14] to 56 million tickets in 1984 and only 11 million in 1990.[15] Accordingly, the number of film theatres declined from approximately 2,000 in 1966[14] to 854 in 1984 and 290 in 1990.[16] During the 1990s the average number of films produced per year remained between 10 and 15; usually half of them not even making it into the theatres.
Since 1995 the situation has improved. After the year 2000, annual ticket sales rose to 20 million and since 1995, the number of theatres has steadily increased to approximately 500 nationwide. Currently, Turkish films attract audiences of millions of viewers and routinely top the blockbuster lists, often surpassing foreign films at the box office. However, it is difficult to speak about the existence of an industry, since most films are rather individual projects of directors who otherwise earn their living in television, advertising or theatre. The distribution of these films are mainly handled by multinational corporations such as Warner Bros. and United International Pictures.
