2016 sees the International Antalya Film Festival celebrating its 53rd edition; it continues to be the most important calendar fixture for Turkish cinema. Taking place in the ancient city of Antalya – renowned for its feasts, celebrations and festivals for over 2,500 years – the festival will once again host national and international cinema professionals and cinephiles between the 16th and 23rd of October.
The Festival’s press conference was held in Antalya last Thursday. This year, the festival continues its mission to represent the best of Turkish and international cinema, bringing together directors, producers, industry professionals, celebrities, and names both new and legendary. This year’s festival motto is ‘The Light of Cinema Shines from Antalya’, reflecting Antalya’s mission to become one of the major capitals of world cinema.
For its 53rd edition, the festival boasts a number of exciting additions. A new initiative, FILM TMR, offers a dedicated marketing and communications platform for Turkish Cinema. The ‘Festival Road’ will be a bustling public hub for this year’s activities. The Competition and general screening lineups are both diverse and exciting. And in addition, IAFF will include special screening sidebars on two of the most significant issues of our time: the global refugee crisis; and life during and after coups around the world.
Recently, the festival has revealed its highly anticipated festival poster and announced that Gérard Depardieu, one of the most beloved and respected actors in contemporary cinema, will attend the festival as a special guest. In addition, the
Golden Orange Award will be given to the two legendary names of Turkish Cinema, actor Yılmaz Gruda and director Feyzi Tuna. Dubbing artists Altan Karındaş and Toron Karacoğlu will receive Golden Orange Labor Award, while Emel Sayın will receiving this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
First launched in 1964 (the first and longest-running film festival in the country), IAFF quickly became the most important and iconic cinematic event in Turkey, and one of the most important film festivals in Europe and Asia.
During the press conference, the Mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, Menderes Türel, took the opportunity to share his vision for Antalya. Referring to the abortive coup attempt in July, he stressed the importance of continuing to work – ‘the show must go on’ – and said that IAFF will function as usual, full of surprises and exciting additions.
He said that one of his major goals is to promote the International Antalya Film Festival to a wider global audience, and noted with satisfaction that attendances from international filmmakers is on the rise. The Mayor not only reminded the audience of the announcement of Gérard Depardieu’s visit, but promised that further VIP guest announcements would be made in the coming days.
He added: “My other major goal is to make Antalya a leading city for the Turkish and international cinema industries. To this end, we have founded the Antalya Film Support Fund, whose cash prize of TL 100.000 TL will promote new film projects and joint productions in Antalya.”
Elif Dağdeviren, the director of the 53rd International Antalya Film Festival, has also shared details about the films and competition strands at this year’s event, along with the festival’s social-responsibility projects. According to Dağdeviren, for the past two years the Antalya Film Festival has been one of the only film festivals with a clear social responsibility goal: “All festivals,” she said, “have a clear social responsibility component, by virtue of their role in bringing people together and creating an opportunity to see films that are not easy to find”.
“However,” she added, “since technology is now so advanced, and because people have the opportunity to watch films in various different platforms, this function alone is not enough. Therefore International Antalya Film Festival has been supporting various social-awareness initiatives for the past two years.”
Inspired by the failed July 15th coup-attempt in Turkey, she noted that this year’s festival includes two special sidebars: ‘People of Nowhere’ and ‘The Sun’s Eclipse’. The former focuses on refugees – the contemporary world’s common problem and wound. The latter section features films about life under coups, and suggests what might have happened had the July attempt succeeded. These will be detailed in subsequent press releases.
International Antalya Film Festival continues to support new film projects with Golden Orange statuette and cash prize, and promote Turkish Cinema with national competition and short film selection. One of the most important film festivals in Europe and Asia, International Antalya Film Festival will be the heart of Turkish and world cinema for the 53rd time in 16-23 October.
An Iconic Antalya Tradition: The Festival Cortege
Every year the festival presents the Festival Cortege, bringing together citizens of Antalya, and national and international stars. For the past two years, the cortege is termed the Social Responsibility & Awareness Cortege, and celebrities greet the public in order to bring attention to social issues of Turkey.
This year, the traditional festival cortege will be held on 15th of October: a Saturday. Special screening programs form part of IAFF’s social responsibility projects. One of the most urgent and distressing issues of the world, the plight of illegal immigrants and refugees, will form the focus of a special film selection. Inspired by the failed 15th July coup attempt, another program dedicated to films about coups and dictatorships, will emphasize the importance of democracy.
Films about Refugees: ‘People of Nowhere’ Film Program
In addition to its regular festival program, International Antalya Film Festival also aims to bring attention to social issues and the common problems of humanity. With this in mind, the festival is proud to present a special sidebar dedicated to films about the lives and problems of refugees. Turkey is known for its strong position and positive activities toward refugees, and the ‘People of Nowhere’ section wants to open a dialogue through cinema. Artists, local and foreign guests will come together for refugees with various workshops and additional activities. The condition of being a refugee, and the stories behind their lives, will be discussed during the festival. ‘People of Nowhere’ will present 5 films in total from Denmark and Austria, as well as Italian-French and British-Turkish-Swiss co-productions.
Films about Coups: ‘The Sun’s Eclipse’ Film Program
Last July, Turkey was rocked by an attempted military uprising that evoked strong reactions around the world. Luckily, it was quickly defeated, in no small part thanks to democratic support and unity from citizens.
In the aftermath of the coup attempt, the festival decided to present an exclusive section called ‘The Sun’s Eclipse’. This unique film program is a powerful testament to the importance of democracy and human rights, and includes films from Turkey, Chile, Argentine, Uruguay, Brazil and Greece. The film program aims to depict the conditions of life under a coup or dictatorship, and suggest what might have happened, had the coup succeeded.
Golden Orange Honorary Awards
For its 53rd edition, the honorary Golden Orange will be awarded to the two most important figures in Turkish Cinema, each of whom has worked hard for many years, and lent their talent and craftsmanship to great and important productions.
Director Feyzi Tuna was in his early 20s when he directed his first film, ‘Love Thirsty’ (Aşka Susayanlar), in 1964. Devoting his whole life to the cinema, Tuna has collaborated with such legendary actors as Fatma Girik, Ekrem Bora, Türkan Şoray and Kadir İnanır. He brought Girik and İnanır together in ‘Ezo the Bride’ (Ezo Gelin, 1973) and for ‘I Buried You in My Heart’ (Seni Kalbime Gömdüm, 1982), worked with such master names as Türkan Şoray, Cihan Ünal, Müşfik Kenter, Ahmet Mekin, Çolpan İlhan and Neriman Köksal. Also working in television, Tuna won viewers’ hearts with his every production. A favourite of actors, he is also renowned for his elegant screenplays.
Starting his acting career with ‘The Lord of Nine Mountains’ (Dokuz Dağın Efsanesi, 1958), directed and written by Metin Erksan, Yılmaz Gruda is one of the actors who founded the ‘Blue Movement’ with Atilla İlhan. Known for his smiling eyes, his trademark moustache and powerful, resonant voice, Gruda has delivered memorable performances in over 40 films, including ‘Everybody’s Favorite’ (Herkesin Sevgilisi, 1970), ‘Crying Angel’ (Ağlayan Melek, 1970), ‘How Does Asiye Survive’ (Asiye Nasıl Kurtulur,1973), ‘Bitter Anguish’ (Cano, 1973) and ‘Blood Money’ (Diyet, 1975).
Emel Sayın to Receive the Lifetime Achievement Award
One of the most unforgettable stars of the Turkish film industry, Emel Sayın has been an important figure in Yeşilçam since 1970s. Her success in the music industry was followed by many popular film productions. After her first role in Champion (Şampiyon, 1970), she took leading parts in Hicran (1971), Süreyya (1972), ‘Liar’ (Yalancı Yarim, 1973), ‘The Enemy’ (Düşman, 1973), ‘Painful Memories’ (Acı Hatıralar, 1977) and ‘The Wind’ (Rüzgar, 1980), ‘Feride’ (1971), ‘Gülizar’ (1972) and ‘The Blue Bead’ (Mavi Boncuk, 1974). Winning the hearts of fans with her extraordinary beauty and exquisite voice, Emel Sayın is one of our most beloved actresses.
Altan Karındaş and Toron Karacaoğlu to receive
Golden Orange Labor Awards
An important actress in Turkish cinema and theatre since the 1950s, Altan Karındaş later added voice-dubbing and television acting to her career. Beloved by fans from 7 to 77, the popular star has played in more than 30 Turkish films, and lent her distinctive voice to many important foreign films.
One of the most prolific artists of Turkish cinema, Toron Karacaoğlu has worked consistently in films, theater plays and television series. Known for his romantic juvenile lead roles, as well as portraying heroes in films such as Battalgazi, Malkoçolu, Karamurat and many more, he also lent his voice to Cüneyt Arkın, one of the leading actors of Turkish Cinema.
International Antalya Film Festival Competitions
One of the most important film festivals in Europe and Asia, International Antalya Film Festival this year received 353 film submissions for the competition. In addition, the festival’s highly-anticipated National Feature Film Competition received 60 applications in total, 6 of which were documentaries.
The competition will award a Golden Orange statuette and a 100.00 TL cash prize in total, 50.000 TL of which will be earmarked for distribution support.
Since 2005, the festival also has an International Feature Film Competition, which awards a Golden Orange statuette as well as a 50.000 Euro cash prize.
This year saw 202 submissions to the National Short Film Selection. To help these works reach a wider audience, examples of the Short Film Selection will be shown to audiences before screenings of each of the international competition films. Films from the National Short Film Selection are also eligible for the Audience Award, as decided by public voting.
Antalya Film Support Fund
This year the festival has added the Antalya Film Support Fund to its competition sections – awarding a 100.000TL cash prize to support a feature national film currently at a scenario stage, on the condition that one-third of the film must be shot in Antalya.
The Fund aims to promote Antalya as an outstanding film production location, with remarkable light and natural features for filming. This year alone, 40 different scripts applied to the Antalya Film Support Fund.
Antalya Film Forum: A Dedicated Platform to Promote Turkish Cinema
Antalya Film Forum, directed by Zeynep Atakan, will be held for the third time during the festival from 16-22 October. Antalya Film Forum has different sections, both to support joint productions and to develop new projects. It encourages producers and directors to produce new films, ensuring the recognition of their projects in the international film industry.
The Work-in-Progress section supports films in their editing stage, while Documentary Pitching Platform and Pitching Platform sections encourage new projects in their scenario stages. The Work-in-Progress section carries a cash prize of 100.000 TL, and the Pitching Platforms award 30.000 TL for each section. The winning projects will also receive a special award certificate.
A Brand New Platform: FILM TMR (Film Talent Marketing Rounds)
A new initiative of the International Antalya Film Festival, FILM TMR (Film Talent Marketing Rounds) is a networking, communication and marketing platform enabling documentaries, animation and feature films produced in Turkey to achieve national and international commercial platforms, while simultaneously providing a network to build relationships for commercial marketing and communication of these films by organizing communication events for national and international professionals.
FILM TMR is a pioneering platform for Turkish Cinema and is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated section of this year’s festival.
Applications for FILM TMR are open till September 20 and regulations and the application form can be found on the official festival website.
Another First in Antalya:
The New Festival Center and the Festival Road
The 53rd International Antalya Film Festival is also turning the King’s Road between the Glass Pyramid and the Antalya Culture Center into a ‘Festival Road’. The Glass Pyramid will become the main festival center, and a hub for industry professionals from this year onwards.
The Festival Road will be open from 12 pm to midnight, and guests will have a chance to attend various activities including panels, autograph sessions with Turkish and foreign actors, concerts, workshops and exhibitions. There will be also lounges and stands dedicated to products and social-responsibility projects.
This area will be a bustling meeting point for the festival apart from the movie theaters.
