Çağan Irmak: "It's as if neither of my novels belongs in the Çağan Irmak world"

Renowned film director and writer Çağan Irmak is meeting readers with his second novel, 'Artuçkule'nin Tepegözü'. In an interview conducted by Asu Maro for the Temmuz 2026 issue of Milliyet Sanat magazine, Irmak explained his new novel in all its aspects and made important statements regarding the relationship between his writing and cinema. Irmak states that he novelized stories that do not fit into cinema and are very difficult to film, so that they would not die out. He emphasizes that in this process, he did not make any restrictions, created a completely free space, and did not adopt an approach of catering to the reader's pulse. The heavy and harsh language he prefers in the novel appears to be a reflection of this literary freedom.

The artist's passion for stories that are extremely difficult to film plays a major role in his turning to writing. Çağan Irmak states that he ensures such concepts, which cannot be easily brought to life in cinema, find life in novels through the power of words. Stating that he feels great happiness in pushing the limits of his writing to the very end, Irmak says he tries to understand their feelings by positioning a conjoined twin attached to the body and mind. For this purpose, the reader can expect quite extreme stories that step outside the ordinary. He admits that the horror literature he has lovingly followed since his childhood has seriously influenced him in this process.

Irmak's cinema career also shapes his courage to take risks in his writing process. He argues that if he did not have such a deep-rooted and successful cinematic past behind him, he could have taken much bolder steps because he would not have the fear of losing anything. However, currently, without feeling any need for modesty, he openly states that his new book is an extremely high-quality and good work. Without acting on the assumption that it will be easily understood, he importantly underlines that he wrote this book entirely in line with his own artistic vision. This attitude clearly reveals the author's self-confidence in the literary field and his trust in the text.

Drawing from his new novel, he also makes remarkable evaluations on the concept of 'hope', which is a philosophical foundation. Arguing that waiting with an empty hope is nothing but a waste of time, Irmak states that talking only about hope without taking action feels wrong to him. He expresses that sometimes distracting and obsolete hopes must be completely cut off and discarded to pave the way for the birth of brand-new and realistic hopes. He argues that leaving aside old and obsolete hopes and stepping into a new exile is essential for spiritual renewal. These thoughts prove that he possesses a dynamic philosophy that triggers change and renewal in both his artistic and personal life.

This intense passion for writing does not mean that Çağan Irmak has completely broken away from cinema, but he does not withhold his critical views about the industry either. He observes that today, the audience for the kind of deep cinema he desires is gradually decreasing, and that a specific age group in particular is moving away from movie theaters. Stating that the cinema films that achieve commercial success today have taken on a slightly more superficial structure, Irmak admits that despite his love for humor, he cannot be right in the middle of this new era. He adds to his words that he currently does not have any screenplay in his mind that he is attached to, whereas in the past he used to live with fifty screenplays at the same time. Despite all these sectoral changes and criticisms, he notes that he has not completely shelved his plans to make films again in the future, but that he currently does not have a clear project in mind.