After the cancellation of Bakur and reactions of the filmmakers, dozens of Turkish film-makers have withdrawn their work from this year's Istanbul international film festival in protest over the removal of a documentary from the program, as a growing censorship row prompted organizers to cancel all festival competitions halfway through the event. Therefore, 34th Istanbul Film Festival was not be able to be completed that year and it was canceled.
Bakur (North) had been scheduled to open on Sunday at 34th Istanbul Film Festival, but was canceled only hours before the screening after festival organizers received a letter from the Turkish ministry of culture claiming that the film did not have the required registration certificate. But the organizers' decision to comply with the ministry's orders prompted immediate outrage. On Monday, more than 100 film-makers, including the most recent laureate of the Palme d'Or in Cannes, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, published an open letter in the Turkish media, accusing the government of "oppression and censorship".