Istanbul dazzled by Pakistan’s big screen award ceremony

ISTANBUL

Big names in Pakistan’s film industry dazzled the audience Sunday evening at a mega ceremony in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul to honor its best.

The fourth edition of the country’s star-studded International Pakistan Prestige Awards (IPPA) was held with the participation of Pakistani and Turkish officials, actors, directors and producers.

Pakistani actors Adnan Siddiqui, Iqra Aziz, Meera Ji, Hania Amir and Sonya Hussyn were among the celebrities who attended the awards in addition to producers and other film industry staff from the South Asian nation.
Held on the banks of the Golden Horn, a major urban waterway in Istanbul, with “sweet” Urdu songs playing in the background, droves of Turkish and Pakistani big screen fans and Pakistani expats living in 
Turkey and their families were seen making their way to meet the visiting Pakistani actors and taking selfies and family photos with them.

Imran Ismail, governor of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said Pakistan and Turkey are “working to bridge the gap” in the film industry.

“Istanbul is close to our hearts,” Ismail said to a rousing reception from the audience as the hall glittered with red and green colors while the national anthems of the two countries were played.

Ahmet Misbah Demircan, Turkey’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, addressing the participants spoke on the historic relations between the two countries.

Shanaz Ramzi, Public Relations Officer for IPPA, said that the event was held twice in the U.K. and once in Norway. The inaugural edition was held in London in 2017.

“Because of our close cultural and historic ties with Turkey, the IPPA Awards had been scheduling the Istanbul edition for the past two years,” she said, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed the event until today.