Abstract:

Rather than cinematic representations, this study predominantly touches on the discourses of Western film publications on the Balkans especially during the birth and rise of cinema in the beginning of the twentieth century. The Balkans, the film exhibitions in the region, the films made, and the film theaters opened there as seen in these publications are discussed through the West's perception of the East. With their unitary focus on the Near East and the Ottoman Empire, the influence of these studies are not limited to the print publications but extends to the commercial and economic realms of the era. Furthermore, during the development of cinema in the larger geographic area of the Balkans including Turkey, the article focuses mainly on the approach of Western European journals toward the early cinematic period until the First World War when actualities and short fiction films were more common. These Western film journals approached the Balkans and the Ottoman lands of the early twentieth century through Orientalism, with a colonialist discourse, as a land to be exploited by the cinema industry. At the same time, in the articles of these magazines by different countries, the competition and conflicts over the dominance of the region is clearly observed. In addition, there are also articles on the interest of Turks and other countries in the Balkans on cinema, their films, and the film theaters founded by them. These could be accepted as important sources to be utilized when writing the early film history in the Balkans.