The premiere of the film "Forever Thirty-Three" held at Atatürk Cultural Center
January 29, 2024
The gala of the fictional documentary film titled "Forever Thirty-Three," which focuses on the 33-year history of the Diyanet Encyclopedia of Islam at Centre for Islamic Studies (İSAM), took place on Sunday, January 28, at the Atatürk Cultural Center in Taksim. The gala was attended by prominent figures, including Prof. Ali Erbaş, the President of the Directorate of Religious Affairs; Dr. Serdar Çam, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism; Prof. Mustafa Şentop, the former Speaker of the Grand National Assembly; Prof. İskender Pala, the Vice President and author of the Presidential Board of Culture and Art Policies; Dr. Nazif Yılmaz, the Deputy Minister of National Education; Prof. Mehmet Zahid Sobacı, the General Director of TRT; Prof. Mürteza Bedir, the President of the TDV Centre for Islamic Studies (İSAM); and Dr. Tayyar Altıkulaç, the former President of the Directorate of Religious Affairs and the President of the Board of Trustees of Istanbul 29 Mayıs University. Additionally, contributors to the encyclopedia, scholars, academics, and guests from the cultural and artistic community attended.
The film "Forever Thirty-Three" visually portrays the experiences, shared through oral history interviews conducted as part of the Diyanet Encyclopedia of Islam Historical Project, along with the addition of content from visual and written archives. A script was prepared to reflect this content, and the film was produced by Halil Kardaş, written by Selman Kılıçaslan, and directed by Murat Pay. The film, a joint production with TRT Cinema, was prepared with the contributions of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (General Directorate of Copyrights) and the Turkish Presidency's Communication Directorate.
The movie had its world premiere at the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) in 2023. It received the Jury Special Award at the Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival held in Baku. It was also honored with the Turkey Writers Association Award in the "TV Documentary" category. The fictional documentary is scheduled to be released in Turkey in April 2024.