Kusturica walks out Golden Orange film fest in Antalya

PanARMENIAN.Net - Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica left Antalya on Sunday, October 10, just one day after the southern city’s Altin Portakal (Golden Orange) International Film Festival, where he was going to serve as a member of the international feature competition jury, opened its 47th year with a ceremony marked by controversy, Today’s Zaman reported.

The famed director of such critically acclaimed films as “Underground” and “The Time of the Gypsies,” labeling reactions to his being a member of the jury at the festival as “barbaric and primitive,” said he is withdrawing from the jury and canceling the rest of his program in Antalya, which also included workshops with film students.

Speaking in a press conference at an Antalya hotel, Kusturica said: “I don’t even want to make a plea, but … I’d like to thank Mayor [Mustafa] Akaydin and the people of Antalya for the warm reception. As for the culture [and tourism] minister of this country, I now see him as an enemy because he deserves this,” referring to Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay’s protest against him by not attending the opening gala of the festival.

The 47th edition of Antalya’s annual cinematic fare is now clouded with politically charged statements and protests. The festival, billed by Turkey’s movie industry as the country’s most prestigious film festival, has thus been marred by a scandal, drawing the event away from its main target of boosting Turkey’s movie industry.

Kusturica also noted that just a few months ago he and his No Smoking Orchestra, which also performed the previous day in Antalya, visited the northwestern city of Bursa for a live performance as part of the city’s annual festival, where they were greeted warmly and enthusiastically by the city’s officials.

Dismissing accusations that he was supportive of war criminals, Kusturica added: “A person who has dedicated his life to opening new horizons to humanity cannot be supportive of any kind of crime. … I am known to be anti-imperialist. I have built my life and profession on this basis. … What I was fighting for [during the time of the Bosnian war] was a united Yugoslavia,” the filmmaker said.