Golden Orange Film Festival opens with award presentation

ANTALYA

Following the traditional cortege in the city, the 59th Golden Orange Film Festival, organized by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality with the contributions of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, kicked off on Oct. 1 with a ceremony held in the southern province of Antalya.

Making the opening speech of the event, Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek said: “Golden Orange means cinema, Yeşilçam. Golden Orange means loyalty to Cüneyt Arkın, Fatma Girik, Tarık Akan, Kemal Sunal and many other artists whose names I can’t count, whose movies I played in Konyaaltı Beach with the movie machine I bought in my youth. The light reflected by that machine, which enabled me to create a mobile open-air cinema, illuminated my life in those years and still continues to do so.”

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that cinema is important in keeping history alive and bringing it to the present, adding, “To have a stronger cinema today and tomorrow depends on knowing what was done yesterday and carrying that experience to the present. Just as it is not possible to think of contemporary Russian cinema independently of Tarkovsky, French cinema of the new wave, and Italian cinema of Fellini, we must understand our own roots in the most accurate way.”

Ersoy stated that the Golden Orange Film Festival is of great importance for the correct understanding of the history of Turkish cinema. “Today, the festival has reached a position that can be considered as the memory of Turkish cinema and has become a ground on which Turkish cinema can be traced. When we take a glance at the films that competed in the Golden Orange or won an award, we see that they are not only an artistic feast but also the history of the sociological and cultural transformation of Turkish society,” he said.

Ersoy also said that the ministry provided support to many films to compete in the festival, adding, “We are very pleased that the international recognition of the festival is increasing every year. This festival has another important mission. It also plays an important role in remembering the names of art workers and transferring them to future generations. If we lose our cinema memory, then the real danger begins. These names set an example for future generations and artists. As the ministry, we stand behind and support all kinds of activities related to cinema, especially this festival.”

On the opening night of the 59th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, actress Perihan Savaş and actor Erkan Can were presented with an Honorary Award, while actress Zerrin Tekindor was presented with the Achievement Award.

Can and Tekindor received their award from Böcek, while Savaş received the award from Antalya Governor Ersin Yazıcı.

In the Literary Adaptation Screenplay Competition, which is organized for the first time this year in the festival, Elif Refiğ and Murat Mahmutyazıcıoğlu received the Special Jury Prize with a monetary prize of 40,000 Turkish Liras, while Burcu Aykar won the Best Screenplay Award with a monetary prize of 80,000 liras in this competition.

This year 66 films by 74 directors from 33 countries will be screened at the festival at AKM Aspendos and Perge halls, Doğu Garajı Cultural Center, Under the Stars 1 in Karaalioğlu Park and Under the Stars 2 behind the AKM Doğan Hızlan Library. The films will be screened in two sessions, at 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.

Festival tickets are on sale at Biletix.com and Biletix box offices at AKM. National Short and Documentary Film screenings to be screened at AKM Perge Cinema Hall will be free of charge.

The closing ceremony of the festival will be held on Oct. 8, after the red-carpet ceremony at the Antalya Sports Hall. The opening and closing ceremonies of the festival will be open to the public and will be free of charge.