We, as 13 womxn have either worked or volunteered at Filmmor Women Cooperative between 2016 and 2020, write this notice to both highlight our experiences of systematic violence and discrimination and bring attention to the continuous use of the aforementioned acts; as well as the pattern of exploitation that is born as a result of this behavior that is deeply rooted within the power structures of the mentioned cooperation.

Our time at Filmmor has made it possible for us to witness that the problems that are mentioned within the text written by 14 other people who had left Filmmor in 2015 are not one of momentary nature, but rather the part of a recurring theme. Although many of us were already aware of the said notice during our time at Filmmor, we were hopeful that a process of healing and systematic improvement could be upon us. It is only now that we are able to look back upon our time in Filmmor and understand the severity of the situation. Thus, we have decided to make the issues at hand public in such a manner. Following are some examples of the behaviors we have been subjected to at the hands of Filmmor’s coordinators Melek (Özman) Elhan, Ülkü Songül Özman ve Hülya Uğur Tanrıöver, summed up under two main headings.

Discrimination:

Although sexism, transphobia, racism, xenophobia, islamophobia, ageism, ableism, and body shaming are all ideologies and types of behavior that are polar opposite to Filmmor’s public identity and brand; and yet all are widely perpetuated within the power structures of the Cooperation. The discriminatory actions, expressions, and manners are banalized within daily work discourses and dialogues; recruitment processes; meetings and workshops within the cooperation; and continued while hiding behind a type of attitude and communication that is dismissive and unprofessional in nature. As labor exploitation is ignored as “a compromise for the larger feminist solidarity”, womxn both inside and outside are subjected to being castrated/defamed through the network of the cooperation.

Recruitments are, by chance, all people who are either just entering the workspace, have no experience within NGOs, still students, or new graduates. It is a recurring theme in Filmmor that these recruitments are often denounced as being inept and insufficient as a way to create a generational barrier between them and the management as a way to strengthen the latter’s authority over the former. In addition to this, ideas and ideologies that are not of their generation are often belittled and denigrated, in an act of creating an authoritarian control mechanism around womxn-related issues and feminist discourse.

Filmmor, still barricading itself behind the notion of solidarity, claims that its management only recruits womxn in order to create a support system; ignoring the many qualifications of the young, idealist people they employ at various degrees. The identities of immigrants, survivors and minorities within the cooperation are tokenized and used to gain political and public favor; as well as shared with 3rd parties in a way that disregards their privacy and security, without their knowledge or permission. These same employees are “put in their places” within mass e-mail chains, as well as being accused of sexism themselves and intimidated with threats of court work when the said microaggressions are brought to attention. The management often puts the blame on the accuser herself, gaslighting them by the use of words such as “white man inside” when addressing the accuser.

The experiences of womxn who have been victims of ethnic, gender-based, or class-based violence are weaponized as a part of the perpetuated stigma against mental health within Filmmor’s work culture, both within public spaces and behind closed doors.

Transphobia is also an issue that is present within Filmmor, through implications. The idea of genitalia-based gender ideology and trans-exclusive radical feminism is perpetuated. In one example, the words “I remember when you were a man” have been said to a trans femme. In another, it has been demanded that the movie of a trans woman be taken out of Filmmor’s film festival lineup, although that demand has not come to fruition, thankfully.

Filmmor has also rejected the job application of a hijabi woman on the basis that “they wouldn’t be able to adapt to the workplace culture”, before even being given a chance to take part in the job interview process, although their resume was more than qualified for the open position. The demand for the inclusion of a hijabi character in the “Gender Five” has also been rejected by Filmmor.

Body shaming, slut-shaming on the basis of artificial hair color use, the general notion of moral superiority within the management level, insults on the basis of body hair and daily examples of verbal bullying within the workspace are also some other examples of the discriminatory practices of Filmmor.

Violation of Human Rights and Systematic Violence in the Workplace:

Systematic mobbing and gaslighting, discrediting, isolation, harassment, labor exploitation, violation of the most fundamental rights of employees have become Filmmor's way of doing business. The most basic rights and needs of business life are disregarded on the pretext of having limited resources, although it is not so and the existing ones are poorly managed. Job assignments are given regardless of the applicant's experience and field of work. Recruits are employed without any orientation process or information about the operation. The employees are constantly being told to “correct” the system. Working days and hours are not specified. The flexibility of working hours is at the discretion of the coordination team. Sending messages and e-mails to employees late at night, such as "Did you sleep”, “Do you love me" out of the blue when there is no previous conversation, insisting on getting a response, sharing information about employees' private life and working style with third parties without their permission, making gossip, slander, using the special situations of employees against them all take place at Filmmor.

In light of the facts mentioned above, we share with the public our experiences in Filmmor as individuals who are employed in a business environment with vertical discrimination and violence patterns. We were constantly discredited in various ways and now receive legal support. We would like to state that we reserve the right to take legal action with all means of proof and testimony.

In the meanwhile, we invite all organizations, especially Filmmor, to put an end to the exploitation of the feminist and LGBTI+ movements in Turkey for personal gain and acts of harm through both corporate and personal lobbying. In addition, we demand an end to all forms of exploitation (labor exploitation, identity exploitation, emotional exploitation) and systematic violence as well as employing womxn under the name of “solidarity” by using gender, orientation, ethnicity, age, and class-based difficulties experienced by women, and then instrumentalizing the same difficulties to expose them to discrimination and violence.

We watch with concern and anger at the exploitation of rights-based values, especially in financial and political ways, to serve personal interests, in the increasingly narrowing civil society, media, and film fields in Turkey. We want it to be known that Filmmor employees and all womxn and LGBTI+ workers are in communication and solidarity despite the efforts of employers to isolate them; that the violence to which individuals are subjected is in no way personal and that this is a pattern and a political issue.

We invite everyone in the feminist and LGBTI+ movement to question their privileges and to consider the exposes to end the cycle of violence within and outside the movement. We share only our initials under the survivor's right to be forgotten, and we expect this to be respected, so that these statements within the scope of whistleblowing do not lead to us being discredited again and suffering secondary victimization. We believe that violent, vertical, and hierarchical structures within the feminist and LGBTI+ movements cause serious damage to our struggle against patriarchy. We also believe that intersectional and inclusive feminism in Turkey will continue to spread and strengthen despite some privileged and discriminatory individuals and institutions.

From those who worked at Filmmor between 2016-2020:

C.K.

E.T.