‘Underground,’ ‘Beyond the Hill’ win big at SİYAD night

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The team of ‘Beyond the Hill’ pose on the stage. The film, inspired by a Dostoyevski classic, won the Best Film Award while the Best Director Award went to its director Zeki Demirkubuz (R). AA photo

Master Turkish director Zeki Demirkubuz’s 2012 number “Yeraltı” (Underground) and Emin Alper’s “Tepenin Ardı” (Beyond the Hill) scored big at Jan. 21’s presentation of the 45th Cinema Writers Association (SİYAD) Cinema Awards, winning eight prizes between them.

Demirkubuz’s “Underground,” which won five awards, took inspiration from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s legendary work that deeply penetrates the human soul, “Notes from Underground,” transposing the setting from Russia to Ankara and casting the main character as a civil servant (Engin Günaydın).

“Beyond the Hill,” which has previously won many national and international awards, tells the story of a man living an isolated existence in the quiet foothills of Turkey. When his second son brings his boys for a visit, he takes the opportunity to pontificate about the law of the land as he sees it. He shares one unsolicited thought after the next, most of which focus on the elusive nomads whom he suspects have been trespassing on his property. The film picked up three awards at the SİYAD night.

In all, organizers of the SİYAD evening handed out awards to 11 Turkish films.

The best of cinema

One of the most popular recent films in Turkish cinema, “Araf” (Purgatory), a story of people caught between a miserable present and the promise of a free future, won two awards, while one award went to “Zenne” (Zenne Dancer), which was inspired by the true story of male belly dancer that was killed.

“Beyond the Hill” won the Best Film Award while the Best Director Award went to Demirkubuz. In the best actor category, Günaydın won the award for his role in “Underground” while the Cahide Sonku Best Actress Performance Award was won by young actress Neslihan Atagül for her role in “Purgatory.”
 
Alper, the director and script writer of “Beyond the Hill,” was presented with the Best Script Award.

Famous Turkish musician Demir Demirkan, who made the music for the film “Zenne Dancer,” won the Best Music Award at SİYAD. In the best supporting actress category, Nihal Yalçın took home the prize for her role in Demirkubuz’s film, while Mehmet Özgür accepted the prize for best actor for “Beyond the Hill.”

Mizgin Müjde Arslan, meanwhile, won the Best Documentary Film Award for her film “Ben Uçtum Sen Kaldın” (I Flew, You Stayed), while Rezan Yeşilbağ was chosen in the Best Short Film Award category.

Sevin Okyay, Feyzi Tuna, Necla Nazır and Arif Erkin were also presented with honorary awards, while Dilan Aksüt was presented with the Ahmet Uluçay Hope Award.

SİYAD’s traditional foreign film award went to Michael Haneke’s “Amour” (Love).