Turkish flotilla revenge film misses out on Holocaust day release in Germany 2013

Producers of a Turkish action film depicting a vengeful raid on Israeli commandos involved in last year’s fatal flotilla attack wanted the film to open in Germany on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

But due to time constraint issues at the German film board, it appears the controversial movie, titled The Valley of the Wolves: Palestine, did not screen in the country yesterday. It was reportedly shown at a number of cinemas in Austria.

The film ratings agency, Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft, told the Wall Street Journal the movie had been submitted too late to complete a review in time for a Thursday opening. Pana Film, the Istanbul-based production company that made the movie, described the move as a violation of “law, democracy and freedom of thought”. A separate report indicates the film was later passed by the board for screening in Germany.
The Valley of the Wolves: Palestine is the latest spinoff from a TV series centred on a James Bond-like figure named Polat Alemdar, played by Necati Şaşmaz, which has a cult following in Turkey and among Turkish expats abroad. The series has been sharply criticised inside and outside its native country for nurturing nationalism, racial hatred and violence, but makers Pana Film are unbowed. “Our guilt lies in standing beside innocent people, and not being supporters of Zionist-fascist policies,” a spokesman said on Tuesday.

In a trailer for the film, Alemdar is asked what he is doing in Israel. He replies that he is in fact in Palestine. Later, an Israeli threatens him by saying: “You know you won’t make it out of our promised land.” Alemdar responds: “I don’t know what part of these lands were promised to you, but I promise you six feet under.”