| Art Profile |
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Metin Erksan was born in Çanakkale in 1929. In 1952 he completed his thesis “Inside the Walls of the Historic Peninsula and Galata, and the Hans at Galata” at the Art History Department of the Faculty of Literature, Istanbul University. In 1948 he became a journalist, working for newspapers and journals in Istanbul as a film critic and writer on cinema. Bearer of an honorary Press card, Erksan has continued his work as a journalist and writer on culture and art, philosophy and politics. In 1952 he directed a film on the life of Aşık Veysel. During 1956-1958 he did military service as a reserve officer at the Army Film Headquarters (MOSD) in Yıldız Palace. He began to work on the restoration of the important film archives there and ensured the survival of archival films. From 1952 to 1982 he worked as a script writer and creative director in the implementation of many films. In 1958 he founded the Turkish Cinema Workers Trades Union and in 1965 the Turkish Cinema and Film Directors Union. From 1959 to 1978 he was the recipient of many awards on Turkish and international film festivals. In 1964 he won a Golden Bear Award at the International Berlin Film Festival in the Scriptwriters, Directors and Producers categories for the film, “Susuz Yaz” (The Dry Summer). These awards were the first ever won by Turkey in an international film competition. Erksan pioneered the idea and implementation of founding the State Film Archives at Mimar Sinan University in 1963. In 1975, he pioneered the teaching of cinema at the same University where he gave lecturers on film and cinema under the title “Cinema Theory” in the Cinema and Television Department as well as at the Communications Department of Istanbul University from 1975 to 2005. In 1989, his book entitled “Atatürk’s film” was published by Hil Press followed in 1989 by “Historical Sources Concerning the Turkish Republic’s Legal Rights and Desire to Enter the European Union”. In 1997, the same firm published his book “The Greek Question”, which was last reprinted for a second time in 1999. In 2003, the Turkish Republic Ministry of Culture Award for Culture and Art was given to Metin Erksan and the Cinema Writers’ Association presented him with a commemorative plaque. Erksan still continues his work in writing, journalism and the cinema.
Some of his important films: Dokuz Dağın Efesi (1958), Gecelerin Ötesi (1961), Yılanların Öcü (1962), Acı Hayat (1963), Susuz Yaz (1963), Sevmek Zamanı (1966), Kuyu (1968), Sensiz Yaşayamam (1977), Prevezden Önce (1981-TV).
(Reference: Yolu Işık’tan Geçenler: Işık Üniversitesi Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi Öğretim Üyelerinden Seçmeler, Istanbul 2007).
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