Turkish films draw interest in the US

WASHINGTON - Anatolia News Agency

Turkish pianist Gülsin Onay will give special concert series in the festival.

The 12th Boston Turkish Film Festival, which opened 10 days ago, is underway in the U.S. The director of the festival, Erkut Gömülü, said Turkish films had gained great appreciation from U.S. audiences.

Gömülü said a total of 19 films, most of which are feature films, had made their North American or world premieres and it made the festival proud. He said U.S. audiences showed great interest in the film screenings and the film selection was highly appreciated by the U.S. media. He also noted that the number of attendees at the festival had increased every year.

This year the festival’s seventh Boston Turkish Film Festival Award for Excellence in Turkish Cinema was presented to director Erden Kıral in recognition of his contributions to Turkish cinema.

Also, as part of the Boston Turkish Film Festival, the awards for the Boston Documentary and Short Film Competition were presented at a ceremony after the screening of the winning films. Also, directors spoke to audiences about their films. Another event at the festival was a public open panel discussion on Turkish cinema and its problems with the participation of directors Aysun Bademsoy, Serhat Karaaslan, Hüseyin Karabey and Ahmet Boyacıoğlu.

The Boston Turkish Film Festival is the first Turkish film festival initiated in cooperation with a U.S. fine arts museum. A reception also took place at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Among the films screened at the festival will be Reis Çelik’s “Lal Gece” (Night of Silence), Muzaffer Özdemir’s “Yurt” (Home), Özcan Alper’s “Gelecek Uzun Sürer” (Future Lasts Forever), Yüksel Aksu’s “Entelköy Efeköy’e Karşı” (Entelköy vs. Efeköy), Tolga Örnek’s “Kaybedenler Kulübü” (Losers’ Club) and Derviş Zaim’s “Gölgeler ve Suretler” (Shadows and Faces), among others.

There will also be a special concert series in the music program of the festival this month featuring eminent Turkish pianist Gülsin Onay, as well as the young and talented musicians of Taxim Square.

The festival, organized by the Boston-based New England Turkish American Culture Association (TACS-NE) will continue until April 27.

For further information, please visit www.bostonturkishfilmfestival.org.