Afife Jale Awards presented in Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Theater actress Sumru Yavrucuk recevies the Best Actress award at the Afife Jale Award night ceremony.

Organized for the 17th time this year, the longest-running theater award organization in Turkey, the annual Yapı Kredi Afife Jale Theater Awards were presented in a ceremony held on April 29 at the Haliç Congress Center.

Yapı Kredi CEO Faik Açıkalın spoke during the opening of the ceremony, saying that they were working to support the Turkish culture and arts scene since the organization’s inception in 1944.

A total of 15 awards were delivered and famous Italian comedian and paper artist Ennio Marchetto performed an exclusive show to entertain the audience.

The “Best Actress Award,” went to Sumru Yavrucuk and Öner Erkan took the “Best Actor Award.”
The best production of the year title went to “Silence” and the best director award went to Mehmet Birkiye for the same play.

The “Muhsin Ertuğrul Special Award” went to Erol Keskin, and the “Cevat Fehmi Başkut Special Award” went to Yiğit Sertdemi. The “Yapı Kredi Exclusive Award” went to Adalet Ağaoğlu.

Contribution to culture

Speaking about Yapı Kredi Bank’s contribution to the culture and arts scene, Açıkalın said, “For 69 years we have not only supported theater but also archeology, music and literature.”

“The support that we give to arts and culture in different disciplines makes us a culture and arts bank,” he said adding that they are also supporting children’s theaters since 1949 and also took part in publishing books.

The most important thing above all, according to Açıkalın is supporting Muhsin Ertuğrul Theater and supporting the theater in “Small Stage.” The support has been ongoing for the last 17 years.

Speaking after Açıkalın, Yapı Kredi Afife Theater Awards chairman Salih Başağa said this year the theater awards had undergone many radical changes. The jury system and the hall rules had been changed, he added.

The jury, consisting of 33 members, was styled with exclusive make-up for a series of stunning photographs this year, displayed during the awards ceremony. As part of the night’s show, Ennio Marchetto, known as the “living cartoon” for his colorful paper costumes, put on an exclusive show. The entertainer has performed in over 70 countries worldwide, from Singapore to Mexico.