Turkey’s film and TV production community is supplying financial aid and resources to the victims of the catastrophic earthquakes that hit the country and neighbor Syria this week, as the death toll crossed the 5,000 mark. The Earthquake was a powerful one, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. the second one was just as bad, with a magnitude of 7.7, beginning just after 1:30 PM local time. Producers association Tesiyap has made a statement saying it is collecting aid and money from the country’s producers and ensuring this is delivered to the victims of the quake “as soon as possible” via Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and non-profit disaster relief organization, the AHBAP.
According to Deadline, the AFAD made a statement saying:
“The majority of our member producers shared with us that they took a break from the movie sets for a while to support their charity work.”
Major Turkish production companies such as MF Yapim and Medyapim reposted the statement on social media. Medyapim and Ay Yapim also published their joint statement, saying the premiere of a film they co-produced had been postponed to a later date. Relief efforts continue in Turkey and Syria as the situation changes, with fatalities rising and aid workers desperately searching for survivors and giving aid to the injured. Almost 6,000 buildings were leveled in Turkey alone. Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, declared a state of emergency within ten provinces spanning the quake zone.
When Turkish TV and film productions continue is currently unknown.