Turkish court suspends release of horror film set in historic Greek orphanage | eKathimerini.com

Turkish authorities have temporarily suspended the release of the horror film “Rum Yetimhanesi” (Rum Orphanage) following a court order triggered by a legal complaint from the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The film, co-directed by Anastasiya Budakva and Cem Kaymakci, was scheduled for release earlier this month but was blocked after the Patriarchate accused the production of using its name, religious symbols, and historic property without authorization. The orphanage in question – a sprawling six-story wooden structure on the island of Buyukada, near Istanbul – holds deep historical and cultural significance for the Greek Orthodox community.

In its petition to the Court of Industrial and Intellectual Property Rights, the Patriarchate argued that the film’s portrayal of the site as a setting for dark supernatural events distorts its legacy and incites hatred. “The film turns a place of compassion and care into one of satanic imagery,” the complaint stated, noting the substitution of a Christian cross for the letter “T” in the title and the depiction of the building as haunted as particularly inflammatory.

Kezban Hatemi, legal advisor to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, filed the injunction on April 7. The court ruled in favor of the Patriarchate, finding that the film used the orphanage’s name and likeness without consent, and posed a threat to public order, religious sensitivities, and Turkey’s international standing.

According to the Patriarchate, the filmmakers conducted drone footage over the site without permission and failed to adequately respond to requests for clarification regarding the film’s content and use of religious symbols.

The Prinkipo Orphanage, perched atop a hill on Buyukada – the largest of the Princes’ Islands in the Sea of Marmara – was home to more than 5,800 Greek children between 1903 and 1964. Originally designed by French-Ottoman architect Alexandre Vallaury in 1899 for use as a luxury hotel by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, the building never opened for that purpose due to a ban imposed by Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II. It was later acquired by the wife of a Greek banker and donated to the Patriarchate.

The orphanage was forced to close in 1964 amid rising tensions between Turkey and Greece. The structure fell into disrepair and was seized by Turkish authorities in 1997. A lengthy legal battle followed, culminating in a 2010 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that restored ownership to the Patriarchate. Efforts to restore the historic building are currently ongoing. [Combined reports]