SULTAN AYNALAR’DA: TÜRKAN ŞORAY

We made the documentary Mirrors in 1996... Our goal was to understand and explain Turkey through stars who hold a mirror up to society. Each episode would introduce a different face of Turkey: Orhan Gencebay: the music of migration, Yılmaz Güney: the world of the Kurds, Ajda Pekkan: the adventure of Westernization, Zeki Müren: the evolution of music and sexuality, Türkan Şoray: the transformation of women... The documentary series attracted so much attention that, following these stars who rose to prominence in the '60s, documentaries were released about others who rose to prominence in the '70s: Ahmet Kaya, Sezen Aksu, İbrahim Tatlıses, Kemal Sunal, Tanju Çolak... The renewed faces of a changing Turkey... There wasn't enough time to make the '80s; frankly, I didn't feel like it; we never really loved that Turkey; perhaps that's why... The documentary had two wonderful advisors: My late teacher, Prof. Dr. Ünsal Oskay and my beloved namesake, Can Kozanoğlu… I still fondly remember the hours of discussions we had with them, accompanied by a wonderful documentary filmmaker, at our office in Tandoğan, Ankara. Watching it again a quarter of a century later, you'll see the immense effort that went into it, how meticulously dialogue and scenes were selected from dozens of films and incorporated into the flow. Türkan Şoray rarely gives interviews; she rarely appears in front of a television camera, especially not in front of a television camera. In this documentary, she openly shared her life, Yeşilçam, her feelings, and the transformation she inflicted on the women who set their sights on her during her lifetime. We maintained a close friendship after this documentary. On her birthday, June 28th, we are publishing an excerpt from "Türkan Sultan" on "Can'ın Arşivi" (Can's Archive) and wish her a long and healthy life. You can use the join link below to support our independent journalism.    / @candündar-k8c