Halit Refig's I Lost My Heart to a Turk: Woman, Islam and Modernity in Turkish Cinema

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2018.223

Keywords:

Woman, Islam, Cinema, Film, Refig, Turkey

Abstract

Defined by some critics as the ultimate national cinema movement piece, Halit Refiğ’s I Lost My Heart to a Turk(1969), the love story of a German woman and a Turkish worker in the ancient town of Kayseri becomes an allegory for the Turkish nation’s identity crisis. This paper identifies the parameters used by Refiğ to position the Turkish identity in his film and emphasize the special role of women in Turkish modernization.

Author Biography

Murat Akser, University of Ulster

Murat Akser is lecturer in cinematic arts, in the School of Creative Arts, University of Ulster, UK. Between 2006-2013 he has been an associate professor of cinema and media studies, chair of new media department and the founding director of the Cinema and Television MA program at Kadir Has University Istanbul, Turkey. He has his MA in Film and PhD in communication and culture from York University, Canada. He works extensively on political economy of film festivals, film genres and has recently published a book length study of Turkish cinema from Lambert: Green Pine Resurrected: Film Genre, Parody, and Intertextuality in Turkish Cinema. Also an independent filmmaker Dr. Akser has directed short films, music videos and is a member of International Cinematographers Guild and Academy of Canadian Film and Television.

References

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Published

2018-12-21

How to Cite

Akser, M. (2018). Halit Refig’s I Lost My Heart to a Turk: Woman, Islam and Modernity in Turkish Cinema. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 7(1), 5–29. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2018.223

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2018): Spring 2018

Section

Articles

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