The guest of this episode of Eylül Aşkın İle, hosted by Eylül Aşkın and filmed at the Bohem Art Gallery located on Lüleci Hendek Street, was Burak Gülgen—the son of prominent Turkish cinema director Melih Gülgen, a child star of the 1980s, actor, and director.

Coming Soon: A Documentary Exploring Child Stars

Drawing from his own experiences and taking a firm stance against the employment of children on film sets, Burak Gülgen is preparing a documentary that delves into the challenges and traumas of being a child actor and achieving fame at a young age. The project, featuring interviews carefully curated by Gülgen, will shed light on the issue of child labor in the entertainment industry and its lasting impact on those involved.

The documentary, directed by Gülgen himself, will include contributions from notable figures such as Aslıhan Arıkan Dikçe, Av. Dr. Aysel Gülle, Burçak Evren, Gamze Dar, Gülşah Alkoçlar, Kahraman Kıral, Mine Çayıroğlu, Necip Sarıcı, Nilgün Kasapbaşoğlu, Parla Şenol, and Yeşim Girgin. Together, they will explore the concepts of child labor, child stardom, and the long-term consequences of early fame.

“I’ve been part of the film world since I was 5 years old.”

Having been on sets and in studios continuously since 1983, Burak Gülgen reflected on his early years in the industry:

“As a child, you’re not fully aware of what’s happening. You’re a cute kid performing roles. Strangers—adults much older than you—pinch your cheeks, hug you, and shower you with excessive, sometimes uncomfortable attention. For a child, this can be a very unsettling experience.”

This personal journey and insight form the foundation of Gülgen’s forthcoming documentary, promising a heartfelt and critical examination of the subject.

“The Film Set Is My Living Space”

Burak Gülgen emphasized that his love for cinema began at a very young age. Even for films in which he did not act, he was always present on the sets of his father, the renowned director Melih Gülgen. Gülgen revealed that, instead of playing soccer with friends, he preferred spending time on film sets. Reflecting on the challenges of being a child actor and his repeated thoughts of leaving the industry, he explained why he ultimately built his career in cinema:

“It’s not just about my father. Cüneyt Arkın is my mother’s uncle, Serdar and Ahmet are my uncles and worked as cinematographers, Semih was a production manager, and Nurettin, another uncle, was a screenwriter and assistant director. Naturally, growing up in such a family, I was exposed to terms like dolly shots, close-ups, and camera angles before I could even read or write.”

“My father said, ‘You can’t be a director without knowing editing or a cinematographer without understanding lighting.’”

When Burak Gülgen expressed his desire to pursue directing, his father’s first piece of advice was to learn film editing. Following that, Gülgen immersed himself in various aspects of filmmaking, striving to master every domain like his father. He even worked as a music assistant to refine his skills in film scoring and music selection—a critical element of directing. Gülgen recalled his time on the set of the iconic 1990s TV series Yılan Hikayesi, starring Meltem Cumbul and Mehmet Ali Alabora, as a key learning experience.

Through this holistic approach to cinema, Gülgen has continued to build a career deeply rooted in his family’s legacy and passion for the art of filmmaking.

“We Are Living in an Unbelievable Fast-Food Culture”

Burak Gülgen highlighted the significant shift in focus and attention spans brought about by the advancement of technology and the rise of social media. He remarked on the decline of traditional celebrity journalism:

“Attention spans are now incredibly short, and so is our ability to focus. Even our daily agendas reflect this; we’re overwhelmed and unsure of what to concentrate on.”

“The Blind Leading the Blind”

Commenting on the current state of the film industry, Gülgen expressed a critical view:

“From a technological standpoint, things are very advanced, but in terms of production and content, the situation is quite poor. In my opinion, cinema as we knew it is over.”

Gülgen attributed this decline to the rise of digital platforms, which he believes have led to a loss of originality in filmmaking. He criticized the repetitive nature of the industry:

“The same actors, the same directors, the same screenwriters, the same casting directors, the same cinematographers… It’s like the blind leading the blind. There’s no fresh perspective.”

Through these observations, Gülgen painted a picture of an industry in need of reinvention and a return to authentic, innovative storytelling.