“Güzel Günler Göreceğiz” (Good Days to Come)

The International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, the 48th of which was organised this year, came to an end with an award ceremony held at the Glass Pyramid after a pleasant competition for a week. The juries of the festival which completely consist of women under the theme “And Woman Touched the World” awarded the “bests”.

“Let’s Meet in a freer Turkey at the 49th Festival...”

The 48th Award Ceremony of the Golden Orange having started after the “Red Carpet” ceremony where the unforgettable stars of Yeşilçam, young people who work in film industry and prominent guests of the festival paraded was presented by Berna Laçin and Ufuk Özkan. In the speech at the closing night of the festival, the mayor of Antalya and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Antalya Culture and Arts Foundation (AKSAV), Prof. Dr. Mustafa Akaydın said: “We had a sorrowful week due to the blood disaster. However it also became a week which was full of activities due to the festival. The people of Antalya embraced its artists with love and fondness. See you soon again at a festival where our women and artists will be freer and we will experience no more coup d’état and censorship next year.”

“Zenne” (Zennce Dancer) has left its mark on the Golden Orange

The 13 films competed at the National Feature-Length Film Competition of the Golden Orange this year. The nine out of these 13 films are the first films of their directors. “Zenne” (Zenne Dancer) has left its mark on the night with the awards that it won in five categories. While the film crew of “Good Days to Come” received the Best Film Award from the Governor of Antalya Dr. Ahmet Altıparmak and Müjde Ar, Ümit Ünal received the Jury’s Special Award for the Best Film through the film “Nar” (Pomegranate); the film crew of “Zenne” (Zenne Dancer) received the Best First Film from Prof. Dr. Mustafa Akaydın and Demet Evgar; Çiğdem Vitrinel received the Best Director Award from Handan İpekçi through the film “Geriye Kalan” (What Remains); Emre Kavuk received the Best Script Award from Ayşe Kulin through the film “Güzel Günler Göreceğiz” (Good Days to Come); Frank Schreiber and Hemin Derya received the Best Music Award from Şevval Sam through the film “Meş” (The Walk); Devin Özgün Çınar received the Best Actress Award from Prof. Dr. Mustafa Akaydın and Ayça İnci through the film “Geriye Kalan” (What Remains); Erdal Beşikçioğlu received the Best Actor Award from Bergüzar Korel through the film “Behzat Ç: Seni Kalbime Gömdüm” (Behzat Ç. I Buried You in my Heart); Kenan Korkmaz through “Lüks Otel” (The Luxury Hotel) and Norayr Casper through “Zenne” (Zenne Dancer) received the Best Cinematographer Award from Serpil Kırel; Gıyasettin Şehir received the Best Art Director through “Meş” (The Walk); Kalender Hasan received the Best Fiction Award from Melis Behlil through “Güzel Günler Göreceğiz” (Good Days to Come); Nesrin Cevadzade through “Güzel Günler Göreceğiz” (Good Days to Come) and Tilbe Saran through “Zenne” (Zenne Dancer) received the Best Supporting Actress from Çiğdem Anad; Erkan Avcı received the Best Supporting Actor from Yaşar Seyman through his role in “Zenne” (Zenne Dancer). While the Behlül Dal Jury’s Special Award was presented to “Lüks Otel” (The Luxury Hotel), “Meş” (The Walk), “Can” (Can), “Fedakar” (Self-Sacrificing), and “Öngörüye Ağıt” (Requiem for Foresight), the Dr. Avni Tolunay Jury’s Special Award was presented to “Canavarlar Sofrası” (The Monsters’ Dinner) from Serap Tolunay. While the Best Film at the festival was awarded with prize money of 350.000 TL as well as the Golden Orange statuette, the Best First Film and the Best Director were presented with 50.000 TL; the Best Script was awarded with 30.000 TL.

A Summary of the Night...

The issues which the award-winner speakers most discussed at the night were “violence against woman”, “marginalising”, “censorship”, “war”, “copyrights” and “appointments of teachers”.

The Party Leader of the Republican People’s Party, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, said: “Our cinema has an important role in our fight for democracy. We will not let art and artists be unprotected.”

While the presenter of the night, Berna Laçin, mentioned the issue of teachers who could not be appointed, Ufuk Özkan said: “We wait for a law which will deter “violence against women” to be come into force”.

After the directors of “Zenne” (Zenne Dancer) received the SİYAD Award, they said: “When we applied to the Ministry of Culture for supporting our project, we got the response that our film is not proper to support. I believe that the award which we received today is a divine justice. We are all the children of the same God without discriminating any religion, language, race and sex. Honesty can sometimes kill; our friend Ahmet Yıldız was killed for this reason. We dream a Turkey where we can live without hiding our identities”.

Nesrin Cevadzade, who received the Best Supporting Actress through “Güzel Günler Göreceğiz” (Good Days to Come), said that she dedicated her award to all beautiful and lonely women who scattered all over the world after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The director of “Meş” (The Walk), Selamo, said: “We felt as the “other” at the festival as we made a Kurdish film. We were also censored by the press. The films having been censored were awarded this year’s festival; we wanted to strike the period of 12 September. There has been a war for 30 years in this country. The Kurdish language and music have been banned and assimilated for many years in this country. These are accepted unfortunately now; if we could accept these 30 years ago, everything would be different. Living together is like love. We want to live fraternally without marginalising each other. I want artists to use this power in order that no more people are killed and we live together fraternally and peacefully. We meet for art here today. Let’s meet in Diyarbakır for peace one day.”

Devin Özgün Çınar, who received the Best Actress Award through “Geriye Kalan” (What Remains), said: “I receive this award on behalf of all people who feel or are made feel as the other.”

The Art Director of “Meş” (The Walk), Gıyasettin Şehir, said: “My friends, who come onto the stage, state that art is the conscience of the society. I hope to live in a society where there is no war and sexual discrimination, and which is democratic, independent and prosperous. I dedicate my award to the people who fight for a democratic and bright future”.

The second artist, who received the Best Supporting Actress through her role in “Zenne” (Zenne Dancer), Tilbe Saran said: “This award goes to conscience. The name of the character that I played was Sevgi (it means love); this award goes to love. Art is the conscience of the society.”

Musical notes from the two sides of the sea...

There are also sub-themes such as violence, censorship, and peace as well as the main theme of woman at the 48th Festival. While many activities were held within the frame of these themes, Dilek Koç and Areti Ketime who brought messages of peace from Thessaloniki to Antalya staged at the award ceremony. Ketime and Koç, who enchant the guests of the ceremony through their performances, alleviated the excitement of the competitors waiting for award announcements.
The Mark of “Woman” on the Festival...

This year’s Golden Orange clearly differed from the festivals held in the past, because the juries of SİYAD, and the Audience Award; and the Akdeniz University Youth Jury completely consisted of women as well as the National Film Jury presided by Müjde Ar and consisting of Handan İpekçi, Bergüzar Korel, Ayşe Kulin, Yaşar Seyman, Annie Geelmuyden Pertan, Şevval Sam, Melis Behlil, Prof. Dr. Serpil Kırel and Çiğdem Anad. Vahide Gördüm, who took place in the National Film Jury, had to leave from the festival and jury membership due to her illness. Most of the 751 activities such as the panels, interviews, exhibitions, and theatre plays organised within the festival, were held under the main theme of the festival “And Woman Touched the World”. Also the 1st Antalya Women’s Summit which is planned to become traditional was held.

The Exact List of the Awards

The National Feature-Length:

The Jury: Müjde Ar (the president of the jury), Handan İpekçi, Bergüzar Korel, Ayşe Kulin, Yaşar Seyman, Annie Geelmuyden Pertan, Şevval Sam, Melis Behlil, Prof. Dr. Serpil Kırel, Çiğdem Anad.

Best Film: “Güzel Günler Göreceğiz” (Good Days to Come) (Hasan Tolga Pulat)
Best Film - the Jury’s Special Award: “Nar” (Pomegranate) (Ümit Ünal)
Best First Film: “Zenne” (Zenne Dancer) (M. Caner Alper – Mehmet Binay)                   
Best Director: “Çiğdem Vitrinel - Geriye Kalan” (What Remains)               
Best Scenario: “Güzel Günler Göreceğiz (Good Days to Come) – Emre Kavuk”                   
Best Music: “Meş (The Walk) / Frank Schreiber, Hemin Derya”                
Best Actress: “Devin Özgür Çınar – Geriye Kalan” (What Remains)                   
Best Actor: “Erdal Beşikçioğlu – Behzat Ç: Seni Kalbime Gömdüm” (Behzat Ç. I Buried You in my Heart)      
Best Director of Cinematography: “Lüks Otel (The Luxury Hotel) - Kenan Korkmaz / Zenne (Zenne Dancer) - Norayr Kasper
Best Art Director: “Meş (The Walk) – Gıyasettin Şehir”
Best Fiction: “Güzel Günler Göreceğiz (Good Days to Come) - Kalender Hasan”
Best Supporting Actress: “Nesrin Cevadzade - Güzel Günler Göreceğiz” (Good Days to Come) / “Tilbe Saran – Zenne (Zenne Dancer)”                 
Best Supporting Actor: “Erkan Avcı – Zenne (Zenne Dancer)”                           
Behlül Dal Jury’s Special Award: “Lüks Otel” (The Luxury Hotel), “Meş” (The Walk), “Can” (Can), “Fedakar” (Self-Sacrificing), “Öngörüye Ağıt” (Requiem for Foresight)
Dr. Avni Tolunay Jury’s Special Award: “Canavarlar Sofrası” (The Monsters’ Dinner)

The International Feature-Length Film Competition:

The Jury: Marleen Gorris, Niki Karimi,Tamara Tatishvili, Biket İlhan, Aslı Selçuk.
Best International Feature-Length Film Award: “On the Edge” (Leila Kilani)
Best International Feature-Length Film – The Jury’s Special Award: “Almanya - Welcome Germany” (Yasemin Şamdereli)

The SİYAD Awards:

The SİYAD Jury’s Award of Best National Feature-Length Film: “Zenne” (Zenne Dancer) (M. Caner Alper – Mehmet Binay)
(The Jury: Senem Erdine, Müge Turan, Janet Barış)
The SİYAD Jury’s Award of Best International Feature-Length Film: “Goodbye” (Mohammad Rasoulof)
(The Jury:  Zeynep Tül Akbal Süalp, Elif Tunca, Selin Gürel)

The Audience Award:

The Jury: Neşe Karel, Ayşe Şap, Tülin Muratçay, Ş. Ayşe Akkaya Ve Ülkü Sevimli.
Best National Feature-Length Film - the Audience Award selected by the City Council of Antalya: “Can” (Can) (Raşit Çelikezer)

The Youth Award:

The Jury: Mühübe Demirbaş, Melisa Saka, Gülşah Özcelep, Egenaz Yücel, Utku Şahin, Selin Çetin, Leyla Topal, Ayça Demir, Gamze Aydın.
Best International Feature-Length Film – the Akdeniz University Youth Jury’s Award: “Goodbye” (Mohammad Rasoulof)

Documentary Film:

The Jury: Aysim Türkmen, Nur Dolay, Serap Aksoy, Yeşim Tabak, Yrd. Doç. Dr. Meltem Ünal Erzen.
Best National Documentary Film Award: “Bedensiz Ruhlar” (Souls Without Bodies) (Sabite Kaya)
Best National Documentary Film – The Jury’s Special Award: “Oğlunuz Erdal” (Your Son Erdal) (Tunç Erenkuş) ve “Geçmiş Mazi Olmadı” (The Past has not become a History) (Mehmet Özgür Candan)
Best First National Documentary Film Award: “Arabeks” (Gökhan Bulut – Cem Kaya) ve “Kadim” (Old) (Okan Avcı)

Short Film:

The Jury: Türkan Derya, Begüm Kütük, Elif Ergezen, Natali Yeres, Senem Aytaç.
Best National Short Film Award: “Dua” (Prayer) (Tuna Balkan)
Best National Short Film - The Jury’s Special Award: “İnfantil Amnezi” (Infantile Amnesia) (Can Mengilibörü) ve “Kırmızı Alarm” (Red Alarm) (Emre Akay)

The People’s Orange Awards:

1st Film: “Rengim” (My Colur) (Oya Kırcaburun)
2nd Film: Kumanda” (Command) (Hasibe Merve Çelik)
3rd Film: “Gül ve Silah” (Rose and Gun) (Mümtaz Serkan Özkaya)