Türkiye's communications director says truth shapes global future

By Ahmet Esad Sani

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said Sunday that truth is the primary factor that will lead the world to a "fairer, more livable and more stable future."

Speaking at the 14th TRT International Documentary Awards held in Istanbul, Altun expressed great pleasure and happiness to be present with leading documentary filmmakers from around the world.

Pointing out that the event, which has become a tradition, has become a global brand with 998 applications from 93 countries, he said "a successful documentary can address an original topic, create an emotional and intellectual impact on the audience, possess effective narrative skills, adopt an innovative approach, have visual and auditory quality and, of course, manifest itself with objectivity. A successful documentary filmmaker is undoubtedly one who can successfully demonstrate these approaches in his work.”

"However, beyond all this, documentary filmmaking is a matter of the heart. The works presented by documentary filmmakers arise from a dedicated commitment, patience and truthfulness. In this sense, documentary filmmakers are always in pursuit of the truth that has been lost or ignored, trying to bring to light what has been hidden, sometimes focusing on geography, history, nature and directly on human beings, without disconnecting from the truth," he said.

"The reconstruction and strengthening of the viewer's connection with the truth is at the very center of documentary filmmaking for the purpose of rebuilding and strengthening humanity's collective memory and making contributions to history by capturing it.”

- 'Truth is what will lead our world to future'

Underscoring the great importance of telling the truth and remaining loyal to it, Altun continued.

"What will lead our world to a fairer, more livable and more stable future is primarily the truth, what we will do based on the truth, or what we will not do by avoiding it. When we look at the world today, climate change and the disrupted natural balance are truths. Many armed conflicts, massacres and wars at the local and regional levels today are truths. Unfortunately, racism, hate speech, Islamophobia and the rise of xenophobia in the 21st century are also truths.

"The fact that in Gaza, not only Muslims but also humanity is being killed, and the bombing of peace and brotherhood, tranquility and stability not only in Palestine but also all over the world for more than two months in front of the eyes of the whole world is, unfortunately, a truth. From whichever angle you look, it is a truth that Israel is committing a major war crime, committing genocide, and killing more than 20,000 innocent people for over two months indiscriminately in front of the eyes of the whole world," he said.

"Nevertheless, it is also a truth that some, with their media power, are trying to lead humanity to disaster by attempting to present the truth as fake and the fake as truth with the disinformation they produce. In this sense, the strengthening of the connection between truth and humanity is extremely critical and vital for our future."

Altun emphasized that documentary filmmaking holds a very important place in this regard, as it is a powerful way to show the unseen and make the unheard heard.

"The veterans of documentary filmmaking fulfill a very important responsibility by striving to put the truth that is intentionally or unintentionally marginalized back on track,” he said.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas