Atagül receives the ‘Young Witch’ prize

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Flying Broom Women’s Film Festival endded and the ‘Young Witch’ prize of the film festival went to Neslihan Atagül with her role in ‘Purgatory’ movie. AA photo

The 16th edition of the Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival closed on May 16, with the presentation of the “Young Witch” prize to Neslihan Atagül, and the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) prize to “Queen of Montreuil,” directed by Sólveig Anspach.

During the week-long festival, 98 films from 40 countries and 90 directors were screened. The festival’s theme for this year was “Despite… Resistance, Movement, Solidarity,” with selections made according to this theme, thus drawing attention to women who are aiming to change the world to prove that they will not be silenced and will stand firm despite all the odds. “Solidarity, Resistance, Movement.”

The prizes were introduced at the closing ceremony, which took place in the capital’s Kızılırmak Theatre.

Young actresses who starred in films screened in cinemas in Turkey within the past year are eligible for the Young Witch of the year award. The fifth such prize went to Atagül this year for “pursuing her career, which she began when she was very young, with faith and discipline and with successful performances in simple roles.

“As a woman, I’m very happy and I feel honored to receive a prize from a festival like this,” Atagül told the Anatolia news agency.

Queen of Montreuil, a 2012 movie, competed for the FIPRESCI and was screened in a category titled “Each Has a Different Color.” Films in this category have been evaluated by the (FIPRESCI) jury since the festival’s 6th edition in 2003.

Queen of Montreuil won the prize because “it explained the grievances of life, the feeling of loneliness and the mourning after a death with an optimistic point of view and it showed, through two free and creative women characters, that cinema can be a source of life and joy.”

Following the prize ceremony, the film was screened at Kızılırmak Theatre once more. As explained by the Flying Broom, Queen of Montreuil is “a surprising comedy, where laughter and tears alternate.” “They say that when a woman gets over her husband’s death, she becomes a queen. Agathe, Queen of Montreuil’s main character, is trying to mourn. It is early summer. Agathe has come back to France and is at home in Montreuil.