Ankara Film Festival presents awards

ANKARA

The 31st Ankara International Film Festival’s award ceremony was held at Büyülü Fener Movie Theater, which was organized with the cooperation of the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the World Mass Communication Research Foundation, and ended on Sept. 10.

The award ceremony, which was closed to the audience due to coronavirus measures, presented the awards in the National Feature Documentary and Short Film categories.

İrfan Demirkol, president of the World Mass Communication Research Foundation, stated that they tried to organize a festival where young people could meet with masters and discussions on films could be carried out by adhering to the health measures under pandemic conditions.

“We like to believe in science, take responsibility and struggle. Mahmut Tali Öngören, the founder of our festival, said, ‘Organizing a festival is like growing tulips in the desert.’ We would like to thank you, our artist friends, jury members, cinema writers, cinema audience, sponsors and the entire festival team, who have been with us in this difficult process,” he added.

This year 10 films competed in the National Feature Film Competition. The jury, chaired by director Yeşim Ustaoğlu and had members such as editor Aylin Zoi Tinel, actors Berkay Ateş and Tuğçe Altuğ and cinema writer Uğur Vardan, selected the movie “Bilmemek” (Not Knowing) as the best film.

Directed by Leyla Yılmaz, the film was awarded 50,000 Turkish Liras for its expression of the inability of individuals to understand a growing child in an impressive language and for its emphasis on social deterioration.

Senan Kara received the award for Best Supporting Actress and Emir Özden for Best Supporting Actor for their performance in the film.

The Best Director Award went to Onur Ünlü for his film “Topal Şükran’ın Maceraları” (The Adventures of Şükran the Cripple). Emel Erden won the Best Artistic Director Award for her work in the same film.

The film “Uzun Zaman Önce” (Long Time Ago), written and directed by Cihan Sağlam, received the Best First Film Award given on behalf of the founder of the festival, Öngören.

Serdar Orçin was given the Best Actor Award for his performance in the film, and Uygur Yiğit received the Best Original Music Award with her soundtrack in the film.

The Best Actress award was given to Selen Uçer for her performance in “Aşk, Büyü vs” (Love, Spells and All That).

The director and writer of the film, Ümit Ünal, also won the Onat Kutlar Best Screenplay Award.

In the festival, where 11 films competed in the documentary category, the films were evaluated by a selection committee consisting of academic Nihan Gider Işıkman, director, screenwriter and producer Rena Lusin Bitmez, and director and documentary producer Zeynep Gülru Keçeciler.

The winner of this category was Ayten Başer Yetimoğlu’s production called “İçimdeki Küller” (Ashes in My Heart).

Fourteen films competed in the National Short Film Competition this year. The jury, consisting of academic Andreas Treske, producer Bulut Reyhanoğlu and actress Şenay Gürler, awarded Yılmaz Özdil’s movie “Bare Giran” (Heavy Load) with the Best Short Film award.

The VEKAM Special Award, which was given for the first time this year to encourage the production of Ankara-themed short and documentary films organized jointly by Koç University Vehbi Koç Ankara Studies Application and Research Center (VEKAM), was awarded to Yasin Semiz for “Asfaltın Altında Dereler Var” (There are Streams under Asphalt).