Golden Orange continues with discussions on cinema

ANTALYA - Anadolu Agency

This year’s jury members gather ofr a press conference in Antalya and discuss the future of Turkish cinema, while some say the grants from Culture and Tourism Ministry should be increased. AA photos

This year’s Golden Orange Film Festival sets out to tackle the future of Turkish cinema through a series of challenging discussions. Şükrü Avşar, a well-known Turkish producer, said the grants were too few and the movies that produced were not of a high enough quality, while veteran actress of Turkish cinema Türkan Şoray said there were not enough halls to accommodate all the films.

The films that are at the 50th Golden Orange film festival, as well as at other festivals, have to be screened in 200 cinema theaters, according to Şoray. Howeve, there was little chance for this, she added. Şoray met the press along with the jury members of 50th Golden Orange; directors Reis Çelik and Ümit Ünal, producer Şükrü Avşar, actor Mahir Günşiray, academic Prof. Dr. Feride Çiçekoğlu, cinema critic Burçak Evren and CNNTürk Programs Coordinator Aslı Öymen, opera artist Rahman Altın, screen director Zekeriya Kurtuluş and Antalya governor Mustafa Akaydın.

Şoray said that many important figures were jury members this year and added that they had a very wide knowledge of cinema. Şoray said they had seen many good films so far and it was very difficult to judge the films and choose one. Noting that Turkish cinema had reached a certain success and had revealed many original and different directors, Şoray said the festival was very important in terms of opening up new paths for them.

The films that receive awards should reach the audiences, according to Şoray.

“When we see a festival award-winning movie, we often see these movies cannot reach enough audiences. However, cinema is art and at the same time it is the business of trade. We hope that these films will reach the audiences and the sector does what is to be done.”

Şoray said it was very important for her to see how the director reflected the story and how the actors and actresses reflected the story in the movie. Everyone sees the story in a different way, she said.
“I look at how the movie affects me, in which points it gets me,” she added. She added that, in general, how the director used the music, light and images in the movie was very important.

Şoray, as a jury president, said she had never received an award for a movie. “In the movies I took part in, directors, directors of images have received many awards, but I never received an award for a movie,” she added.

Speaking after Şoray, Şükrü Avşar said the movies that he had seen until now did not have any financial concerns. There are a total of 183 theater halls and at the same time the productions increase every day, he said, adding that not every cinema film could enter the halls and there was a huge decision-making process.

Unqualified movies bring cinema down

There were movies that received aid from the Culture and Tourism Ministry which never had the chance to reach an audience in the halls and the grant they received was very small. With such grants it was almost impossible to make a good film, Avşar said.

“The ministry gives 200,000 [Turkish] Liras. Cinema is something that you do with your heart. Instead of giving less money, fewer films should take grant and more money should be given,” he said. The movies that have been supported have never seen enough attention in the halls and this situation has brought cinema down, he added.

This year, veteran actors and actresses such as İzzet Günay and Türkan Şoray received the best actor and actresses awards in the 50th year awards category. Şoray and Günay were presented with their awards by Antalya Mayor Mustafa Akaydın.

In addition, Tuncel Kurtiz, who passed away recently, was commemorated during the opening with his poems, images, and movie excerpts. Mete Horozoğlu presented the festival. Famous actresses and actors including Fatma Girik, Nebahat Çehre, Ediz Hun, Göksel Arsoy, Yusuf Sezgin, Salih Güney, Ahmet Mekin, Ayten Uncuoğlu, Işık Yenersu and Kuzey Vargın attended the opening of the festival.

Award-winning director Asghar Farhadi also attended the festival, as his movie “The Past” was screened as part of the exclusive screening events. Farhadi said, “I love Nuri Bilge Ceylan movies and I love Yılmaz Güney.” Speaking at the opening, Antalya governor Sebahattin Öztürk said their mission was to host many important cinema actors and directors in Antalya since 1964.