Director:Barry Avrich Producers: Barry Avrich, Vince Buda
Description:
A powerful and uncensored exploration of how Turkey has become the
epicenter in a world of rising tensions between Russia and the United
States, the Middle East and Europe. This film explores the power and
tactics of the right-wing populist president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and how he has consolidated domestic politics and used military and
diplomatic means to solidify Turkey as a regional power. From
ruthless crackdowns on scores of journalists arrested, academics
officially banned from leaving the country, and many of the
highest-ranking military officers arrested to the nefarious and
failed 2016 coup, the film outlines Erdogan’s mission to bring
order and stability but has led to unraveling of liberal Turkey to
massive conflicts with the Gulen movement, coup plotters and Kurdish
nationalists - all of which have culminated in the crisis of modern
Turkey. This 90 minute film explores the alchemy of dictatorship,
greed and the vulnerability of democracy through the eyes of
academics, politicians and exiled Turkish people, who are fighting to
preserve their once thriving, progressive and beautifully open
country.
Biography:
Barry Avrich is
responsible for over 48 documentaries and best known for provocative
exposes of Hollywood power brokers such as Lew Wasserman (The Last
Mogul), Harvey Weinstein (The Reckoning), publishing
kingpin Bob Guccione (Filthy Gorgeous), Blurred Lines,
David Foster: Off the Record and the critically acclaimed film Prosecuting Evil. Avrich has also produced the Scotiabank
Giller Prize and Canadian Screen Awards broadcasts. In 2007, Avrich
built the world’s first state-of-the-art movie theatre in a
hospital at Toronto’s SickKids. In 2016, Avrich released his
best-selling memoir, Moguls, Monsters and Men.
