Golden Boll opens with awards

ADNAN - Anatolia News Agency

Actress Perihan Savaş receives her Lifetime Achievement Award from the Culture and Tourism Deputy Minister Abdurrahman Arıcı. AA photos

One of Turkey’s premier film festivals, the Golden Boll Film Festival, is back for its 19th edition in the Mediterranean province of Adana.

The festival opened with a star-studded ceremony on the evening of Sept. 17 that included the presentation of lifetime achievement awards for several doyens of Turkish cinema, including actors Ediz Hun and Perihan Savaş, as well as producer Abdurrahman Keskiner.

Many artists and renowned figures from the cinema sector arrived at the ceremony, walking down the red carpet at the Merkez Park Amphitheater. Speaking at the ceremony, Culture and Tourism Deputy Minister Abdurrahman Arıcı said the Golden Boll Film Festival had played a very significant role in the development of Turkish film sector as well as in the promotion of the country abroad, adding that Turkish cinema sector needed more national brands and international values.

This year’s edition will include for the first time the “Film-Yön Best Director Award” from the Film Directors Association of Turkey (Film-Yön), Arıcı said, adding that such awards were given in international film festivals. The films on offer are evaluated independently through the eyes of directors, he said.

Ministry supports films
Arıcı said his ministry had provided nearly 50 million Turkish Liras in support to 225 feature films between 2005 and 2011.

“Thanks to this support, Turkish film productions have been revived and the number of films released in 2001 reached 70 whereas it was 27 in 2005. Nearly 40 percent of these films received the ministry’s support. This year 10 out of 14 films, which are competing this year in the National Feature Film Competition, have been supported by the ministry,” he said.

“These films include ‘Araf,’ ‘Ateşin Düştüğü Yer’ (Where the Fire Burns), ‘Aziz Ayşe’ (Saint Ayşe), ‘Babamın Sesi’ (My Father’s Voice), ‘Gözetleme Kulesi’ (Observation Tower), ‘Rüzgarlar’ (Winds), ‘Şimdiki Zaman’ (Present Tense), ‘Yabancı’ (Stranger), ‘Yeraltı’ (Underground) and ‘Yük’ (Load). These films show that we get a return on the support that we give to Turkish cinema,” Arıcı said.

He also said the increasing number of films and the fact they had been winning international awards showed that Turkish cinema was moving forward to become a brand.

The official also said the ministry was attaching importance to training young filmmakers.

Adana Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Zihni Aldırmaz, meanwhile, said the Golden Boll Traveling Cinema Truck had traveled to 38 provinces as part of the festival.

Following the opening speech, Savaş received her Lifetime Achievement Award from Arıcı. She said she entered the City Theaters at the age of 5, performing there for 10 years, before entering the cinema sector in 1971. “It is great honor to me to get this award.”

Savaş also asked the municipality to increase the number of movie theaters in the city. Keskiner, who received his award from Gov. Hüseyin Avni Coş, said Adana was a very important city for Turkish cinema. Hun said he was dedicating his award to late cinema veterans Ayhan Işık, Yılmaz Güney, Neriman Köksal, Orhan Günşiray, Ekrem Bora and Sadri Alışık. Filmmaker Ferzan Özpetek, who is the head of this year’s National Feature Film Competition, said at the ceremony that it was the third time for him as the head of the jury after the Antalya and Istanbul films festivals and added that they would see three films a day and evaluate them.

The festivities will continue until Sept. 23.