Berlin Turkish Film Festival opens with Osman Sınav film
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The star of the opening film, ‘Love is Red,’ actress Nurgül Yeşilçay reads at the opening of the Berlin Turkish Film Festival. AA photo
The 11th Turkish Film Festival opened over the weekend in the German capital. The opening, held at the UCI Kinowelt Colosseum movie theater, included director Osman Sınav’s film “Aşk Kırmızı” (Love is Red), starring Nurgül Yeşilçay.Speaking before the opening ceremony, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit said this year’s motto was environment and human. “The Turkish Film Festival will make contributions in this sense.”
The organizer of the festival, Selçuk Sazak, said cinema was a powerful gun to introduce a culture. “I have been living in Germany for 32 years. This country still has a problem with foreigners. They say, ‘You are not adapted to the country.’ There are people of Spanish and African origin who live in the U.S. for years without speaking English. Art is the best way to get rid of prejudices.”
Turkish actress Türkan Şoray was presented with an honorary award at the opening of the festival. She received her award from Turkey’s ambassador to Germany, Hüseyin Avni Karslıoğlu. She also received an honorary award at the 18th Nuremberg Film Festival last week in Germany.
Yeşilçay also attended the ceremony.
Turkish films win awards in Bulgaria
SOFIA
Emin Alper’s ‘Beyond the Hill’ has won numerous awards at various festival. The last one was in Sofia.
Director Emin Alper’s Turkish-Greek joint production “Beyond the Hill” won the Best Balkan Film award at the festival, while Yeşim Ustaoğlu’s Turkish-French co-production “Purgatory” won the special prize of the Bulgarian Cinema Critics.
Director, screenwriter and producer Ustaoğlu was also on the five-person jury of the festival. Another Turkish film, Derviş Zaim’s “Devir,” which represented Turkey in the Best Balkan Film Category, was not awarded.
The Sofia Film Fest screened 246 films from 49 countries. The festival’s Best Film award went to German director Jan-Ole Gerster’s “Oh, Boy.” The film also won a monetary award of 10,000 euros.