Turkey and Tatarstan to Launch the First Joint Film Project
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Turkey and Tatarstan to Launch the First Joint Film Project

9 September 2018

On September 5, a cooperation agreement between the 14th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival and Turkic World Film Festival (Istanbul) was signed. The cooperation will involve various activities, including a joint film production.

On September 8, a separate agreement on Safa and Sazhida film co-production based on the work by Mahmut Galau was also signed between Tatarstan and Turkey.

`The script was written about 10 years ago and it is based on classic Tatar literature. We translated the script into Turkish and our colleagues from Turkey liked it `, said the director of the film Ildar Maturov.

Safa and Sazhida will be a historic film. Its story begins in the 18th century and ends with the beginning of the Russian-Japanese war. It is a love story and, at the same time, a psychological drama.

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`This work is important for Tatarstan as well as for those, who left Tatarstan due to historic events and now live in Turkey’, commented the Director 14th of the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival. A director Gultekin Bayyr, representing the Turkish delegation shared his vision on the importance of this project for both countries: `This is our common pain and tragedy. We are peoples with the same historic root. Therefore, it is a great honour for us to participate in this project and to provide assistance`.

Gultekin Bayyr also highlighted that the further cooperation between the countries in the field of cinema arts is needed: `I would also like to note that I see a lot of film industry members in this festival and we need to work even more closely on various projects, if there is any opportunity’.

Milyausha Aituganova said that this year the film received a funding from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan for its pre-production stage: ‘We are going to visit Turkey in late September - early October. We are going to participate in the documentary film festival and select locations for filming’.

She also mentioned that `I do not remember a single film of Tatarstan-Turkey co-production. I think this new experience will open opportunities for cooperation between Tatarstan and Turkish filmmakers`.

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