In the 1970s, with the
decline in Turkish cinema, he started to work extensively for TV. In 1974, he contributed as an instructor to the first cinema education programs initiated by the Istanbul State Fine Arts Academy (the
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University of today) where he started to work as lecturer in 1975.[1][5][6] In 1975, he directed the
TV seriesAşk-ı Memnu (Forbidden Love) which was aired on the
Turkish Radio Television, TRT. This TV serial is considered to be the first
miniseries on Turkish television stations.[1][2] In 1978, he wrote a script for a documentary about the life of
Mimar Sinan on commission from the Mimar Sinan University.[7] The project was not completed but the script was published.
In 1999, on commission from the then Prime Minister
Bülent Ecevit, he began developing a
feature film project titled Devlet Ana (Mother State), to be released on the 700th anniversary of the establishment of the
Ottoman Empire. The project was going to be conducted in collaboration with the Mimar Sinan University (MSU). In 2001, Refiğ stated that he will not collaborate with MSU and thus the project was not realized.[2]
Censorship
Refiğ's 1979-81 adaptation of
Kemal Tahir's novel, Yorgun Savaşçı, for TRT, where he served as an advisor, was banned from broadcast by TRT on accounts of incorporating scenes which were anti-
Atatürk, anti-
Turkish Independence War, and pro-
Çerkes Ethem. A commission of seven people comprising three colonels, a representative of the Ministry of Interior, a representative of the press office of the Prime Minister, two TRT representatives, and
Turgut Özakman, the director of the Turkish State Theatres, representing the Ministry of Culture, was formed on order from President
Kenan Evren and Prime Minister
Bülent Ulusu and the prints were burnt in 1983 by TRT director
Macit Akman, at the furnaces of the
Turkish General Staff printhouse under the supervision of the said commission. This
censorship caused public controversy. A surviving copy surfaced in 1993 and the 8-episode miniseries was broadcast in its entirety on TRT.[1][2][8]
Academic life
He lectured at the
University of Wisconsin in 1976, where he directed The Intercessors, and at
Denison University in Ohio in 1984, where he shot In the Wilderness with his students. He was given the title of "Honorary Professor" by
Marmara University in 1997.[5]
Refiğ, Halit. (2009). Gazi ile Latife: Mustafa Kemal'in Yaşamından Bir Kesit. Alfa Basım Yayım Dağıtım, Senaryo Dizisi, İstanbul.
ISBN978-605-106-032-3
Refiğ, Halit. (2006). Aşk ve Ölüm Senaryoları. Doğan Kitapçılık, İstanbul.
ISBN978-975-293-450-4
Non-fiction (memoirs, essays)
Refiğ, Halit; eds. Gültekin, D. Ali; Zileli, Irmak. (2009). Doğruyu Aradım Güzeli Sevdim. Bizim Kitaplar Yayınevi, İstanbul.
ISBN978-9944-1-5966-1
Refiğ, Halit; ed. Gültekin, D. Ali. (2007). Tek Umut Türkiye. Bizim Kitaplar Yayınevi, İstanbul.
ISBN978-9944-1-5916-6
Refiğ, Halit & Hristidis, Şengün Kılıç. (2007). Sinemada Ulusal Tavır. Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, İstanbul.
ISBN978-9944-88-064-0
Refiğ, Halit. (2002). Doğu Batı ve Türkiye 10 Yılda Nereden Başladık? Nereye Geldik?. Ufuk Kitapları, İstanbul.
ISBN978-975-6571-18-7