This is an academy formed by film makers, film critics and cinema-goers hoping that the male-dominated view prevailing in the Turkish cinema, stories and imagery based upon this view, representation of women through this view and the ever lasting protected / maintained sexist stereotypes in the Turkish cinema since its early years will come to an end in the future.

Akademi

  • Is aware that senses built by films are determining and therefore looks at these senses with full attention.
  • Tries to stay away from approaches set on pleasure and voyeurism, refrains from a view based upon pleasure and voyeurism and cares about its consequences.
  • Pays attention to the angle but also to the opposite angle and asks this question: “Where does the woman look at, where does the man look at? Is there a sexist attitude or a patriarchal cinema in the gap between them?”
  • Wishes to see films where women are the “subjects”.
  • Believes in gender equality and dreams of equality in mentality, production, scenario and character, visible through the camera.

In cinema, the Academy is opposed to:

  • Any type of hidden / explicit hostility towards women,
  • Maintaining and reinforcing sexist roles, work division and stereotypes,
  • Restriction and representation of women as object deprived of mobility ability, willpower and hope, through subordinate, complementary and passive roles.
  • Accepting and making a spectacle of violence-discrimination- humiliation actions against women,
  • Abusing and exploiting women in front of and behind the camera,
  • Phallocentric and voyeuristic use of the camera,
  • Representation of LGBT people with sexist, homophobic approaches and to their caricaturization and otherization.

The Academy:

Through these criticisms and wishes and with hope, it aims to contribute to the existence of a cinema freed of male domination and sexism. It believes in the transforming ability of criticisms’ contribution for such a cinema to exist and therefore gives every year the Golden Okra Award. Its hope lays on not finding candidates for the coming years.

Founded in 2009, the Academy gives the Golden Okra Award.

Because fibre percentage is high in okra, it contributes for stomach and intestines to work properly and therefore helps the digestive system. It is a diuretic and a beneficial nutrient to resolve constipation problems. Okra is also rich in minerals and good against fatigue.

The Academy hopes that Golden Okra Awards will also have such healing, question arousing and refreshing characteristics.