Afife Theater Awards presented in Istanbul

Among the major awards, the Best Actress and Best Actor awards went to Nihal Yalçın and İbrahim Selim respectively. 

The Bakırköy Municipal Theaters received the Best Production award for its interpretation of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. 

Among the special awards, the Muhsin Ertuğrul Award went to Professor Dikmen Gürün, the Yapı Kredi award went to Professor Cevat Çapan, and the Cevat Fehmi Başkut award went to Seray Şahiner. 

The first special award given in the name of theater actor Haldun Dormen was presented to “Yoldan Çıkan Oyun” (The Play That Goes Wrong) staged by Istanbul’s Talimhane Theater in collaboration with Zorlu Production. 

Yapı Kredi CEO Faik Açıkalın said they were always working to make culture and arts more visible. 

“The theater always has a special place for us. Yapı Kredi contributed to the establishment of the first private theater in Istanbul, the Küçük Sahne [Small Theater]. We are also proud to keep alive the name of [legendary Turkish actress] Afife Jale, who dedicated her life to theater,” Açıkalın added. 

The ceremony also commemorated the losses that the Turkish art world has suffered over the past year, with white roses left on the stage for artists including Üstün Akmen, Zeki Alasya, Atilla Arcan, Tomris İncer, Levent Kırca, Yılmaz Köksal, Atilla Özdemiroğlu and Sümer Tilmaç. 

Also at the ceremony, a “Respect for Afife Jale” exhibition opened, featuring all 20 actresses who have won the Muhsin Ertuğrul special award and the Best Actress award over the years posing as Afife Jale. The exhibition can be viewed at the website affife.org.