International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1931)

— 182 — Charges. — Until May 1927 there was a special censorship fee of one rouble per 100 metres of film, which accrued to the Treasury, but this was abolished by the Council of People's Commissaries on May 19th, 1927 and to-day censorship is absolutely free. The issue of the licence, however, if the film is approved, is subject to the payment of one rouble plus the stamp duty. Penalties. — Paragraph 19 of the Instruction of March 30th, 1923 expressly lays down that the public exhibition of films which have not obtained the necessary authorisation, as also any other infringement of the censorship regulations, shall be punished in accordance with Article 224 of the existing Russian penal code. FILM CENSORSHIP IN TURKEY General principles. — The system of film censorship in Turkey is independent of any law, decree or circular instruction. Control lies exclusively in the hands of the police, except that the Ministry of the Interior has a general right, even after authorisation to show a film has been granted, to draw the attention of the Prefecture (Vilayet) to any film the public exhibition of which may seem to the Ministry dangerous. Generally speaking, all films without exception entering Turkey are subject to examination before they may be shown. For purposes of censorship, therefore, there is no distinction between entertainment films and cultural, educational or scientific films. Offices and Mode of Operation. — As already stated, the Police is the only authorised censorship authority. In practice, whenever it is desired to project a film publicly, the owner, renter or manager of the hall applies to the department of police, specifying in his request the title of the film, giving a short summary of its plot and sub-titles and mentioning the place and date of showing. Thus, films are in effect granted free admission to the Turkish republic. Their circulation is only limited for purposes of projection. A film can therefore pass the frontier without any control, which is only exercised when it is desired to exhibit the film in public. In each particular case the Department of Police delegates an official to censor the film. According to a communication kindly supplied to the Rome Institute by the Government of Angora, cinema control being in the charge of the police means that applicants for a licence are exempt from all payment and censorship is entirely free. The censoring official as usual, has a choice of three courses: he may decide that the film may be shown publicly in the form submitted to him; he may allow exhibition subject to alteration or the excision of parts considered dangerous; or he may place a definitive veto upon its public projection. In the first event, he will issue a certificate which the holder must at any moment produce to the officials responsible for the supervision of public entertainments. This certificate may also be issued in the second hypothesis, in which case it will specify the parts that must be cut, the alterations insisted upon and the limits within which exhibition is permitted. An applicant who feels that he has been unjustly refused authorisation or who is unwilling to accept the cuts or alterations demanded by the censor may lodge an appeal, supported by a statement of reasons, with the Prefecture (Vilayet) under whose jurisdiction the censor lies, and may demand a re-examination of the film and a fresh consideration of its central ideas. A final appeal may be made to the Ministry of the Interior. This second examination, like the first, is free of charge. Cultural and Educational Films. — As already mentioned, no distinction is in practice made between entertainment