NEWS

Ülker has added another child-oriented social responsibility project to its agenda. To coincide with this special day for kids, Ülker has arranged for children all over the country to spend a day at the movies. “Nim’s Island” will be shown in theaters and auditoriums and is sure to appeal to the kids.

Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler and Abigail Breslin co-star in the fantasy-adventure production directed by Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett.  “Nim’s Island”, which is dubbed in Turkish, is about a young girl and the adventures she experiences in her fantasy world.

The film will be shown at the same time of day in 123 theaters and auditoriums in 33 provinces on April 19th and 20th.  More than 100,000 children are expected to attend the free movie. The number of tickets will be limited to the capacity of the venues and no reservations will be accepted.  The free tickets will be made available at ticket booths, 3 hours before the beginning of the film.

Our child-oriented projects will continue

Ülker Corporate Communications Director Zuhal Şeker, speaking about the importance that Ülker gives to children, especially those who spend most of their free time sitting in front of their computer screens, outlined sports-oriented projects that would get those children out on the streets and help them to spend time in a healthier activities. The philosophy of Ülker’s founder and honorary president, Sabri Ülker states that “No matter where in the world a person may live, he or she has the right to a happy childhood.”  With this philosophy in mind, we will continue our work in that direction said Şeker, and she continued: “In the past year, in cooperation with the Turkish Football Federation we embarked on a UEFA-backed Grassroots project aimed at encouraging children to adopt a healthier lifestyle by adopting the playing of sports as a way of life. Our original goal was to get kids who ordinarily spend their free time sitting alone in front of a computer out on the street, to spend more time with their friends and learn about healthier ways to share and have fun. We believe we made significant strides in that direction over the past year. The Van Football Village, Ülker Mini Kids Football and Basketball Festivals, the Riva Dream Village Project brought thousands of children together, from both Turkey and rest of the world. Here, the children had fun, made friends and were given knowledge about such things as the environment and balanced nutrition.  The other branch of this project began this year. The first Grassroots Center was opened in Beylerbey and named in honor of Gündüz Tekin Onay.  There are plans to expand the project and open centers in other parts of Turkey. At the centers, we wanted to contribute to the health of future generations by creating safe environments where children can actively play sports.”


We are giving special attention to long-term projects

While indicating that Ülker, as a sponsor, will concentrate on long term social projects, Zuhal Şeker said the strategy of the company is to promote child-oriented projects.  Commenting on Ülker’s project in conjunction with the April 23rd National Sovereignty and Children’s Festival, she said, “For 10 years we were associated with the International Puppet Festival for the cultural development of our children. The “Free Day at the Movies” project was organized as a gift to children, whom Atatürk saw as the future of our country. While giving them an enjoyable way to spend some time, we are also introducing children to the colorful world of cinema, which, for various reasons, they have never experienced. In the upcoming period, we are planning to organize more projects that will enrich children’s imaginary worlds, trigger their creativity and broaden their horizons.”  

Two free days at the movies, at 123 auditoriums in 33 provinces

The film “Nim’s Island” will be shown on April 19th and 20th at auditoriums in 33 provinces including Adana, Adapazarı, Ankara, Antakya, Antalya, Aydın- Kuşadası, Balıkesir, Bursa, Çanakkale, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Edirne, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Istanbul, Izmir, Izmit, Karaman, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kıbrıs, Kırıkkale, Kırşehir, Konya, Manisa, Mersin, Muğla, Ordu, Samsun, Sivas, Tekirdağ and Trabzon at no charge.

About “Nim’s Island”

“Nim’s Island” is a fantasy world ruled by the imagination of a young girl …  The film, directed by Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett,  demonstrates how a young girl and a woman who is fearful of nearly everything discover that each have a hero within them that is capable of much more than they believe.  
The screenplay of “Nim’s Island” is based on Wendy Orr’s book by the same name and written by Paula Mazur and Joseph Kwong. Paula Mazur is the producer. The main character, Nim, is played by Abigail Breslin, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role as “Little Miss Sunshine”.  The role of Alexandra Rover is played by Oscar-winner Jodie Foster.  Gerard Butler, who is best known for his roles in “300” and “P.S. I love you”, plays a double role as Nim’s real father and the imaginary hero of the film, Alex Rover. The author of the book, Wendy Orr, based Nim’s story on the belief that all of us are braver than we think we are. “Whether you’re fighting off marauding pirates or leaving your apartment to cross the world, we’re all capable of just so much more than we believe,” she says. The film will be dubbed in Turkish with voice-overs by Meltem Cumbul and Halit Ergenç for Jodie Foster and Gerard Butler, respectively.