T24 Culture and Art
One of the most prominent authors in Turkish media and cinema, Atilla Dorsay, published his 60th book titled „Unforgettable Conversations with Our Unforgettable People.“ In his book, Dorsay shares his conversations and interviews with 31 individuals from the world of cinema and art, including figures like Vehbi Koç, Şakir Eczacıbaşı, Cahide Sonku, Müzeyyen Senar, Fatma Girik, Memduh Ün, Sener Sen, Kadir İnanır, Ferzan Özpetek, Zeki Demirkubuz, Zülfü Livaneli, Yilmaz Erdogan, Fatoş Güney, Hülya Koçyiğit, and Hülya Avşar. The book was released in October 2023 by Puslu Publishing. Dorsay also wrote his 59th book for T24 in November 2013, titled „Truth about Pandemic Days, Industry, and Politics / T24 Articles.“
From the book: Gülriz Sururi, Atilla Dorsay, Engin Cezzar, Leyla Umar (from left to right)
„You will learn a lot and be surprised the first time“
In the preface of the book, Atilla Dorsay mentioned that readers would likely learn a lot and be surprised on their first read. He explained the criteria he used to select the interviews and speeches included in the book. Dorsay’s preface reads as follows:
„In this new book – whatever it is now; I’m not exactly sure – I have included interviews, some of which have already appeared in my other books, while others have remained in the corners. Only with our people… The interviews I conducted with foreign celebrities will be the subject of another book. What fixed number did I have in mind? There are also no preliminary restrictions on who will participate…
Several factors played a role in my selection. The names I discussed, whether artists or not, definitely play an important role in the lives of Turks and still have a place in the collective memory of society… It’s not a simple matter. The names that have made it to the top are no longer remembered, their names are hardly mentioned anymore. Additionally, I believe a certain male-female balance guided me, even if it was unconscious.
I also did not think the number would be 30. It’s already 31; And that’s because we talked about Memduh Ün and his wife Fatma Girik together in the interview… But I checked; 30 is a good number and generally covers the people I want to reach. Let me confess; I would like to hear a few more names with whom I could have spoken in the past. But in the end, 30 was a very reasonable number, and I stuck with it. I would like to apologize to some friends with whom I could not make friends… In my long life, I have made friends with so many people, especially artists; I have conducted interviews that… I consider myself very lucky in this regard… But sometimes, it becomes impossible to interview each one individually. Also, it brings not only friends but also fierce enemies and hostilities into your life. As a side note…
And I started from scratch. As you can see, Cahide Sonku, Müzeyyen Senar, and especially Günseli Başar have fallen far back in our collective memory. But just read the articles: You will see how valuable, special, and unique personalities (in this case, women) are. Vehbi Koç is returning from a long time ago. Just like Vitali Hakko… But both have contributed so much to the collective memory of our society, albeit in very different ways…
Then, from different perspectives, they are the creators of our culture. Türker İnanoğlu, Şakir Eczacıbaşı, or Ideal Tamer