German-Turkish director Fatih Akin and the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos have been receiving death threats from nationalist Turks since Agos interviewed the director about his new film last month. The content of the messages, the outpouring of support for the threateners and the authorities’ inaction come as a grim illustration of the current atmosphere in Turkey. The death threats are an omen for the coming year, the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
Akin — the director of films such as "Head-On," "Crossing the Bridge: the Sound of Istanbul" and "Soul Kitchen" — gave a long interview to Agos on July 30 about "The Cut," his new film that focuses on the Armenian genocide. The interview was received with great interest and contained intriguing revelations.
