Turkish movies win major awards in Asia film festival

ISTANBUL

Film ‘Beyond the Hill,’ which has been received Best Feature award at the sixth Asia Pacific Screen Awards, takes audiences on a journey to secrets within a family.

The Turkish film “Tepenin Ardı” (Beyond the Hill) won the Best Feature Film award at the sixth Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), the region’s highest accolade in film, announced the night of Nov. 23 at a glittering ceremony at the Queensland Performing Arts Center in Brisbane, Australia.

Produced by Enis Köstepen, Emin Alper and late director Seyfi Teoman, and co-produced by Greek Nikos Moutselos, the film was written and directed by Alper and is his first feature film. Alper and Köstepen accepted the award from the International Jury president Jan Chapman. Nominated lead actor Tamer Levent was also at the ceremony.

“‘Beyond the Hill’ took us on a journey to hidden secrets within a family. It was a microcosm of what can happen in a more universal situation. The characters were truthful and complex; it told the story in an original and different way. Beyond the Hill dealt with our tendency to look on the outside for a solution when the real problems lie within,” said Chapman.

Turkish writer and director Reis Çelik collected the award for Best Screenplay for “Lal Gece” (Night of Silence). The award for Achievement in Cinematography went to Touraj Aslani for Iranian-Kurdish filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi’s “Fasle Kargadan” (Rhino Season), which was shot in Turkey.
Over 700 Australian and international guests and leading filmmakers from across the Asia Pacific attended the APSA ceremony.

A film from Iraq also won an APSA, a first for the country, with “In My Mother’s Arms,” which received the Best Documentary Feature Film Award. The film was produced by Isabelle Stead, Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji and Atia Jabarah Al-Daradji, who accepted the award.

Endorsed by UNESCO and in collaboration with the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), the Queensland ceremony featured films from 70 countries and areas in the Asia Pacific, a region that encompasses one-third of the earth, is home to 4.5 billion people and produces half the world’s film. Films are judged on cinematic excellence and reflection of their cultural origins. k HDN