Emir Kusturica reminds Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu about the Armenian Genocide

October 11, 2010 - 20:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - World famous Serbian director Emir Kusturica reminded Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu about the Armenian Genocide, after the latter expressed discontent over Kusturica’s pro-Serbian views.

According to Hurriyet, Kaplanoglu announced that he had withdrawn his film Bal (Honey), from the festival, where it was originally scheduled for a gala screening on Monday October 11 out of competition. Kaplanoglu and the members of Bal’s cast and crew, in a statement issued Thursday, said they will not be attending any of the events during this year’s festival, as Antalya Foundation for Culture and Art (AKSAV) did not backtrack from its plans to have Kusturica on the jury for the international competition.

“If Kaplanoglu is so sensitive to genocides, why wouldn’t he speak of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated in World War I years? That would be an addition to his sensitivity to the crimes against humanity,” Kusturica responded, strongly condemning crimes against humanity.