A moment of silence for Ferhan Şensoy

Emrah KOLUKISA

The documentary "Ferhangi Bir Yaşam," which focuses on Ferhan Şensoy 's life and art, premiered at the ENKA Open Air Theater. Watching the documentary, I wondered, "Have we truly appreciated him?" His first master, Haldun Taner, was undoubtedly one of the first to recognize his true potential, writing in a short blurb on the back cover of "Kazancı Yokuşu." Şensoy recalls Taner telling him, "You're a cabaret dancer," during one of their first encounters; this was undoubtedly true, but also somewhat incomplete, at least considering his later productions.

Directed by Selçuk Metin and written by Zeynep Miraç, "Ferhangi Bir Yaşam" (A Life of Ferhangi) is a valuable attempt to understand him. Filmed at Ses Tiyatro, "Ferhangi Bir Yaşam" is a brilliantly constructed documentary . It's hard not to feel a pang of sorrow when you consider that the documentary is being released four years after his death. By now, countless documentaries, books, and dissertations must have been written about him. How many people can you think of who made such significant contributions to Turkish theater and introduced such significant innovations? For the love of Dionysus!

Şensoy, who has been responsible for many of Turkish theater's most notable creations over a period of approximately 50 years, from the 1970s to the present day, has developed a unique language as a writer/playwright and has created a unique style in his acting that can be considered an extension of this language. On the one hand, he has brought a contemporary adaptation of the storytelling tradition to the present day, and on the other, he has arguably best adapted the teachings of Bertolt Brecht, a great theater theorist with a socialist worldview, to our country. Of course, those in the know can and should better describe all of this.

The second screening of the documentary will be held this evening at ENKA Sanat, tickets are available from Biletix.