The “Third Healthy Ideas Short Film Scriptwriting Contest” which was held by Green Crescent, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Cinema and Association of Cinema and Television Artists, with a focus on tobacco, alcohol, drugs and technology addiction ended with the awards ceremony.   More than 800 applications were made for the contest and Istanbul Gelisim University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Cinema and Television Research Assistant Korhan Topçu won the second prize with his screenplay titled “First Step” in Tobacco Addiction category. 

Chairman of the Scientific Board of Green Crescent Dr. Peyami Çelikcan, Director and Producer Derviş Zaim, Assoc. Dr. Azize Nilgün Canel, Feza Sınar and Mehmet Güleryüz were members of the jury. 12 scenarios were awarded among 800 projects in the categories of tobacco, alcohol, drug and technology addiction.

Green Crescent Vice President Clinical Psychologist. Mehmet Dinç made a speech at the ceremony and he said that Green Crescent’s message is: “People should not be addicted, but healthy. They should hold on to life in a strong and healthy way.”  Dinç stressed that they try to convey this message to people through as many channels as possible and to make youth aware of this problem. He added: “One of our most important channels to convey our message is cinema, film and visual arts. We believe in the power and impact of it.”

“Depth of Our Values”

  With the scenario named “First Step “, Research Assistant Korhan Topcu received the second prize in the category of Tobacco Addiction.  In his award speech, he underlined that a catchword in an old Yeşilçam film in Izmir was the starting point of the project: “We understand the depth of our values when we lose them”. He also added that being healthy is the most important thing in life. Topcu stated that tobacco addiction does not only cause long-term cancer risks in people, but also has severe negative impacts in the oral and dental health of people who use cigarette and other tobacco products. He also pointed to the extent of discomfort caused by the cigarette smoke, and he said these were the reasons of this project.

“3 different projects and 3 awards in 3 years”

In 2015, Topcu won the 3rd prize among 736 projects in the Scenario Contest on Narcotic and Awareness organized in cooperation with the Association of Cinema and Television Artists and Green Crescent. In 2016, his film was elected as the 1st in the Short Film Cpntest organized by Doğuş Otomotiv’s Corporate Responsibility Platform “Traffic is Life” and it is still broadcast on national channels.

He stated that he is happy to be awarded in three consecutive years and added that as these experiences are shared with students, this is a great motivation to get prepared for new contests.