Istanbul Film Festival presents awards

ISTANBUL

The 39th Istanbul Film Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), has announced the winners of the National Competition and National Short Film Competition at a ceremony held at Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM) on July 28. Eleven feature and 12 short films vied in the competitions.

The competition films were screened between July 17 and 27 at the open-air theater set up on the terrace of the SSM. Online screenings were also held.

The delayed international screenings of the 39th Istanbul Film Festival will be held between Oct. 9 and 20. The program of the festival, which will be held conjoined with Filmekimi, will be announced on the social media outlets and the website of the festival in due time.

Eleven films produced in the 2019-20 season vied for the Golden Tulip in the National Competition of the 39th Istanbul Film Festival. The jury evaluating the films in the National Competition was headed by director Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun. Fellow jury members are producer Sevil Demirci, actor Berk Hakman, cinematographer Deniz Eyüboğlu Aydın, and writer Hakan Bıçakçı.

The National Competition Jury distributed awards in nine categories: Golden Tulip Best Film, Best Director, Special Prize of the Jury, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer, Best Editing, and Best Original Music.

In the main categories, the Golden Tulip for Best Film in the National Competition was awarded to “Aşk, Büyü, vs.” (Love, Spells and All That), directed by Ümit Ünal for “its plainness, effortless conveying of its story without romanticizing its protagonists or environment; its comprehensive, external as well as internal perspective, and for making us believe its story more and more at each step.”

The Special Jury Prize in memory of Onat Kutlar was given to “Bina” (The Antenna) directed by Orçun Behram for “being an engaging body horror film – rare in our cinema – with its atmosphere and sound design as well as its plot, and a dystopic genre film that succeeds to include a myriad of references to present day and history of film while avoiding being didactic.”

Ercan Kesal won the Best Director Award for his film “Nasipse Adayız” (You Know Him).

Selen Uçer & Ece Dizdar won the Best Actress Award for their roles in “Love, Spells and All That.” The Best Actor Award was given to Fatih Al for his role in “Körleşme” (Going Blind). The award was presented by producer Sevil Demirci.

The Best Screenplay Award in the National Competition was given to Ümit Ünal for the film “Love, Spells and All That.”

National Short Film Competition

The National Short Film Competition is spearheaded with the objectives of encouraging short film making, supporting the development in this field, and bringing together the audience and outstanding short films. The jury, composed of director Konstantina Kotzamani, director Gökalp Gönen, and actor Boran Kuzum, chose the Best Short Film from among 12 films.

The jury decided to award “Siyah Güneş” (Black Sun) directed by Arda Çiltepe with the Best Short Film Award. The Special Mention was given to “Ahtapot” (Octopus), directed by Engin Erden.

The Istanbul Film Festival presents the Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Prize in memoriam director and producer Seyfi Teoman, who passed away in 2012. The jury comprised of director Emine Emel Balcı, actor Özgür Emre Yıldırım, and musician Ahmet K. Bilgiç.
Six debut fiction feature films by filmmakers from Turkey and screened in the festival’s “Turkish Cinema” section were nominated for the prize.

“The Antenna” won the Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Prize. The jury selected the film for its coherent atmosphere created in accordance with all cinematic elements, and its bold narrative.

The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) presented an award within the National Competition. The FIPRESCI Jury was headed by Bojidar Manov from Bulgaria, and includes Ofer Liebergall from Israel, and Aylin Sayın Gönenç from Turkey.

The award went to “You Know Him” for conveying the mainstream political stage onto the screen in a plain but effective manner, revealing the fragility of ruling power and emphasizing that these fragile relations are committed to money, organizations that are not secular or modern, and traditions. It underlines the social class aspect of the issue all the while depicting the frailty of the politically ambitious individual.

As the National Competition and National Short Film Competition Award Ceremony ends, the films selected for the National Documentary Competition to be held in October as part of the 39th edition of the Istanbul Film Festival were also announced.

The documentary “İyi ki Yapmışım” (Glad I did it!) was screened following the award ceremony.