Ataturk, a feature length documentary on the life and achievements of Turkey's first president, was completed on 1998 when it was screened before an international audience of 800 in Istanbul, Turkey. The film was a finalist in the 1999 San Diego International Film and Video Festival, where it was screened four times. Also in 1999, Ataturk received third place among 1600 entries at the US International Film and Video Festival in Chicago. Besides its festival exposure, the film has been screened in more than twenty-five prestigious universities around the United States; UC Berkeley and Princeton University being among them. Ataturk is distributed to colleges, universities, libraries, and research institutes in the US by Landmarkmedia, a major distribution company specializing in the educational market. The Turkish National TV Channel, TRT, has broadcast the Turkish-version of the film three times within 1999. The film has been broadcast on more than ten times on four Turkish networks ever since. Also, in 2000 an agreement was signed with Tapestry International, Ltd. for the film’s worldwide broadcast distribution.
Since then the film has been sold to channels in Australia, Hong Kong, France, Canada, and the Middle East and broadcast on SBS Australia, SCN Saskatchewan Television (Canada), AB Sat (French-speaking Europe), UAE (pan-Middle East) HISTORIA CA.
Length and language: 81-Minute Documentary Video Film, English
Director: Tolga Ornek
Director of Photography: Oktay Gökakin
Music: Can Atilla
Sound: Ismail Karadas