Turkish academics sacked over porn dissertation project

Three academics at one of Turkey's top universities have been sacked after a student made a pornographic film for his dissertation project. Bilgi University in Istanbul has shut its film department, and police are looking into possible criminal charges. A number of other academics have protested against the response.

The incident has drawn attention to the clash between traditional values and the sometimes experimental arts and lifestyles practised in Istanbul. When film student Deniz Ozgun first broached his idea for a dissertation project with his professors, they were hesitant. He wanted to make a pornographic film, he said, but also to reveal how synthetic the sexual scenes in it were.



They told him the project needed to make a stronger intellectual point. Evidently he did not succeed - his film was marked a fail. None of this caused a stir. But after Mr Ozgun gave an interview to a news magazine, describing how he made the film on campus, his project caused an uproar.

Parents wanted to know what kinds of things went on at Bilgi, one of Turkey's most prestigious private universities. And, say some academics there, the Board of Education put pressure on the university to act. As well as the firing of the three academics - who are now being investigated by the police - the entire Communications Faculty has been shut down. Mr Ozgun, and the former student who starred in his film, have gone into hiding.