Antalya’s streets adorned with Venus statues ahead of film fest

ANTALYA

As the countdown begins for the 61st Golden Orange Film Festival, gold-colored Venus statues, the festival’s symbols, grace the streets of Antalya, transforming the southern province into a vibrant celebration of cinema.

Every year during the festival, municipal staff position the statues of Venus clutching an orange in various locations throughout the city.

This year, teams worked diligently to restore and paint 64 Venus statues, placing the refreshed sculptures along roadways and junctions of the province.

The statues, with their dazzling hue and magnificent stance, attract considerable attention from both locals and tourists.

A total of 12 feature-length and 10 short films will compete for awards, while the documentary category will include eight films vying for recognition in this year’s festival.

The much-anticipated festival will bring together art enthusiasts from all across the country from Oct. 5 to 12.

The festival, which was first held in 1964 with the initiative of Antalya Mayor Avni Tolunay, has the title of Türkiye's longest-running festival.

However, the 60th edition of this renowned festival was canceled last year after controversy over a documentary “Kanun Hükmü” (The Decree), which focused on a teacher and doctor dismissed from their jobs under the state of emergency in Türkiye following the attempted coup on July 15, 2016.

The film was initially selected for the festival but later excluded from the competition, prompting an outcry from filmmakers who condemned it as censorship.