The documentary directed by Cem Kar shares its name and story with a book.
Cem Kar said that he interviewed 57 people at different times and places over a two-year period, recording more than 1,500 minutes of interviews. He noted that the book, which recounts the events of 1974 and sheds light on the period through footnotes, consists of 74 chapters.
Kar told the students that the documentary recounts the escape through the accounts of the 75 captured mujahideen and the journalists held with them, with different people completing one another’s sentences. The reenactment scenes were filmed in Lefke, Nicosia and Kyrenia with a 40-person crew. He also said the documentary’s music, which he composed, was performed a cappella in Kyrenia by a 27-member choir from England, with the arrangement completed by Çağıl İşgüzar at Opus studios in the TRNC.
Kar said interviews and documents were collected in different cities in Türkiye with the journalists featured in the documentary and book: Ertürk Yöndem, Ziya Ergun, Mete Akyol, Yücel Hacaloğlu, Hüdai Bayık, Hami Sami Coşar, Sermet İpekçioğlu, Cengiz Kapkın and Ergin Konuksever. He said that interviewing Greek Major Christos Tsangari, who took the captured journalists to Limassol, was another important detail.
After the conversation, Dr. Fevzi Kasap, Head of the Radio, Television and Cinema Department at the NEU Faculty of Communication, said that Cem Kar, a graduate of the faculty, was both moved and pleased. He described the work as an important documentary not only for the people of the TRNC but also for Turkish history.
Dr. Fevzi Kasap then presented director and writer Cem Kar with a plaque of appreciation.
Who is Cem Kar?
Kar completed his primary, middle and high-school education at different schools in İzmit. In 1999, he began his undergraduate studies at the Near East University Faculty of Communication in the TRNC. In 2000, he received diction training from TRT news presenter and trainer Rahmi Aygün while continuing his studies and working for various media organizations in the TRNC.
In 1999, he was accepted to the university and, in 2000, began presenting a programme called “Bumerang” on Yakındoğu FM. Since 2002, he has continued the programme every weekday on Radyo Güven.
He graduated from the Radio, Television and Cinema department of Near East University in 2005. That year, he began writing columns for Cumhuriyet newspaper. In 2006, he moved to Vatan newspaper, where he wrote columns three days a week and prepared cinema pages on weekends. At the end of 2007, he became Magazine Editor at Halkın Sesi newspaper and paused his columns until mid-2008.
In 2008, he began writing columns again for Star Kıbrıs. That same year, he put into operation a news-programme format he had been developing for two years on Ada TV, which broadcast on D-Smart channel 177 and Türksat 3A to more than 200 countries. He continued presenting the programme until August 2011.
In 2009, he completed a master’s degree in Public Relations at the Near East University Faculty of Communication.
In 2010, he taught in the Radio, Television and Cinema department of the Girne American University Faculty of Communication.
In November 2009, Cem Kar began producing and writing his first directorial project, the “Meçhul Tutsaklar” documentary film and book. He introduced the book and documentary to the public in July 2011.
Cem Kar is currently the director of Abrakadabra Communication Management, of which he is a partner.