Deepti Rao (University Of Groningen)
As a fellow at the Netherlands Institute in Turkey in February 2017, I was able to research and write a chapter on films for children in the Turkish language. The chapter delves into tracing a history of Turkish films for children and about children. Through this, I encountered the fact that there are not many films for children in the Turkish language and the rest of my research finds out why this is so, what consequences does it have, what are children watching if they are not watching Turkish films and what are they learning from it. This chapter is a part of my Master thesis titled 'Film as a means of Arts Education: its influence on empathy in middle childhood'.
Because there isn't any academic literature written on films for children in Turkey, my stay in Istanbul was all the more important as I was able to meet film professionals, film academics, film critics and children to find out more about the subject and gain a better understanding. I am thankful to Guher Gurmen and Dr. Fokke Gerritsen for helping me during my stay and for the lovely lunches we had together!