Lecturer (PhD) Dilara Balcı from the Department of Film Design at Yaşar University Faculty of Arts and Design combined her hobby with the Turkish cinema “Yeşilçam” and turned its unforgettable scenes into painting.
Having conducted many studies and written books about Turkish movies and the characters, themes, actors, actresses, and directors of these movies, Lecturer (PhD) Dilara Balcı expressed that she enjoys converting her hobbies into profession and combining them and told the story of her enthusiasm for Turkish cinema that she has had since childhood.
OVER TWO THOUSAND MOVIES SO FAR
Expressing that she has watched thousands of old Turkish movies since her childhood and been continuing her academic studies in this field, Lecturer (PhD) Dilara Balcı continued saying, “There actually exist over seven thousand examples of these movies. A tidy number of these movies could not be conserved or did not survive the fires. I can assure you I have watched over two thousand of these movies. I have even watched these movies twice or three times. I can even say that I have watched most of them at least once a year. The majority of the movies that I keep in my digital archive of thirteen hundred movies are movies shot before 1980.”
HER GOAL TO START A YEŞİLÇAM-THEMED EXHIBITION
Continuing her studies on Turkish cinema during her master’s and doctoral degree education and having published many articles, book, etc. in this field, Lecturer (PhD) Dilara Balcı noted, “I think I enjoy converting my hobbies into job and combining them. I have been interested in watercolor drawing in recent years as well. I used to play one of the Turkish movies in my archive just to have a sound in the background as I do not like working in quite settings or with music. Then I have come to realize that I could draw some scenes. I am still an amateur but my objective is to draw better enough to open a Yeşilçam-themed exhibition in a few-year time.”
