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The reaction of the Turkish government to Dry Summer (Susuz Yaz) winning the Golden Bear at the 1964 Berlin International Film Festival is one of the most famous examples of a "bureaucratic U-turn" in film history.
Based on internal knowledge, here are the specific details of that reaction:
Before the win, the Turkish government—specifically the Central Board of Film Censorship—had effectively banned the film from representing Turkey abroad. The board argued that the film’s depiction of rural poverty, land disputes, and "primitive" behaviors (such as the protagonist's obsession with his brother's wife) would damage Turkey's international image. They refused to grant an export license.
Because of the ban, the producer (and lead actor), Ulvi Doğan, famously smuggled the film out of Turkey. The common account is that he hid the film reels in the trunk of a car and drove across the border to Europe to enter it into the Berlin Film Festival without state permission.
When the news reached Ankara that Dry Summer had won the Golden Bear (the first major international award for Turkish cinema), the government's reaction shifted from hostility to opportunistic pride almost overnight.
Despite the public celebration, the relationship remained strained. The government’s "embrace" of the film was largely seen as a PR move to avoid looking backward or anti-art on the world stage. While the film was eventually screened in Turkey, it continued to face minor censorship issues regarding specific scenes, and Erksan remained a figure of suspicion among state authorities for his realistic and often gritty portrayal of social issues.
In summary, the government reacted with strategic hypocrisy: they transitioned from banning the film as a "national disgrace" to celebrating it as a "national treasure" solely because of the international prestige the Golden Bear conferred.
The AI summary omitted that the government organized the 'First Turkish Cinema Council' in 1964 as a direct result of the win, to discuss the industry's problems.
The summary omits that the producer, Ulvi Doğan, kept the negative in Europe and released a re-edited 'erotic' version, which complicated the film's domestic availability even after the ban was lifted.
The Turkish government's reaction to Dry Summer winning the Golden Bear was a complete reversal of its previous stance. Initially, the Ministry of Interior's censorship board had banned the film's export, citing its negative depiction of Turkish rural life. After producer Ulvi Doğan smuggled the film to Berlin and it won the top prize, the government, led by Minister of Tourism and Information Ali İhsan Göğüş, immediately embraced the film. They organized a welcome ceremony, gave awards to the filmmakers, and lifted the domestic ban. However, the 'embrace' was largely opportunistic; the film still faced minor censorship domestically, and the original negative remained in Europe with the producer, complicating its release in Turkey.