Turkey-Syria earthquake disaster: Producers begin collecting aid amid humanitarian crisis

Turkey’s film and TV production community is providing financial support and resources to victims of the massive earthquake that hit the country and neighboring Syria this week, as the death toll surpassed 5,000.

Production company Bodi Tassiap released a statement saying they are collecting support and money from producers in the country and ensuring it reaches earthquake victims “as soon as possible” through Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and non-profit organization AHBAP.

“Most of our member producers shared with us that they took a break from the movie set for a while to support their charity work,” read the statement in Turkish but translated and independently verified by Deadline.

Major Turkish production companies such as MF Yapim and Mediapim shared the statement on social media. Mediapim and iYapim also released a separate joint statement saying that the premiere of a film they co-produced, which was scheduled for tonight, has been postponed to a later date.

A local producer told Deadline that his shoot has been postponed for a week as his team works on relief.

Humanitarian efforts in Turkey and Syria continue as the death toll mounts and rescue workers desperately search for survivors. About 6,000 buildings were destroyed in Turkey alone. Seven days of mourning have been declared in the country.

According to the BBC, more than 5,000 people died in two earthquakes in southern Turkey and northern Syria yesterday. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck around 1.30pm local time while many were sleeping, followed by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake. The death toll is expected to rise further.

The likes of Doctors Without Borders, the Syrian American Medical Society and the White Helmets are collecting aid and donations.