Antalya Golden Orange Film Fest opens amid political turbulence

PanARMENIAN.Net - The 51st Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in Turkey kicked off on a high note over the weekend despite political turbulence that put the country’s oldest film event at risk of regularly taking place, Variety said.

The Turkish government’s unwillingness to intervene in the ongoing battle with ISIS militias over the predominantly Kurdish Syrian city of Kobani, on its border, has prompted a recent burst of local anti-government protests and violent clashes which caused more than thirty deaths.

In turn, this initially caused organizers to consider postponing the October 10-18 shindig.

Instead, the fest’s traditional parade and several related concerts and celebrations were cancelled to strike a more somber note, but the show went on.

“The art of cinema has healing powers that we need more than ever today,” said Antalya mayor Menderes Türel at the packed opening ceremony in the city’s Expo center on Friday, Oct 10. “That is why we believe we needed to raise the curtain,” added the pol who is driving the fest’s revamp. The mayor has big plans for Antalya, the scenic city known for its long coastline, to become Turkey’s prime film industry hub.

During the ceremony, a lifetime achievement award was handed to Ellen Burstyn who thanked the audience in Turkish. Veteran Turkish multi-hyphenate Haldun Dormen was also honored.

The opening film, Giorgi Ovashvili’s almost wordless fable “Corn Island,” which is Georgia’s foreign Oscar candidate and took the top prize in Karlovy Vary, screened during a gala on Saturday.

Antalya’s solid lineup comprises a national competition featuring recent Turkish movies such as recent Venice Special Jury prizewiner “Sivas,” by Kaan Mujdeci, and Kutlug Ataman’s Anatolia-set “The Lamb,” which got good notice earlier this year in Berlin. And also a cherry-picked international competition that includes buzzed-about courtroom drama “Court,” by Indian first-timer Chaitanya Tamhane, which took both the Lion of The Future and the top nod in the Horizons section at Venice.