35TH ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED
The 35th Istanbul Film Festival, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and for the 12th year under the sponsorship of Akbank, presented its awards to the winners at a ceremony held at the Haliç Congress Centre on Friday evening, 15 April 2016.
Cem Davran hosted the 35th Istanbul Film Festival Award Ceremony, where this year’s Cinema Honorary Award recipients, as well as the winners of the festival competitions were announced.
Festival’s Cinema Honorary Awards
Presented by the Istanbul Film Festival every year to prominent figures who have devoted their lives to the Turkish cinema, the Cinema Honorary Awards was bestowed on five artists this year. The recipient of the first Honorary Award of the night was actress Jeyan Ayral Tözüm who started her career as a stage actress at a very early age to continue on film, radio, and television, and who later has been the voice actress for some of the greatest Yeşilçam stars, such as Türkan Şoray, Filiz Akın, and Fatma Girik, through her career of over 60 years. She received her award from Hülya Koçyiğit.
A doyen producer, Şerafettin Gür, who has supported numerous directors and produced some of the most significant classics in the Turkish cinema, including Vurun Kahpeye and Vesikalı Yarim during his career spanning over 60 years, received his award from Fatoş Güney.
The “most beloved jezebel” character in the Turkish cinema, Suzan Avcı who has won the hearts of the audiences in roles ranging from comedy to drama in the heyday of Yeşilçam was another recipient of the Honorary Awards. Murathan Mungan presented the award to her.
The recently deceased Ülkü Erakalın, one of Yeşilçam’s most prolific directors with over 200 films to his credit, would be yet another recipient of the Honorary Awards. In his long career that started at the end of the 50s, he directed a wide range of movies from melodrama to comedy all of which were very popular and he himself was widely loved and respected by both his colleagues and a vast audience. Ülkü Erakalın’s award was presented by Türkan Şoray to the director’s son Murat Erakalın.
The last of the festival’s Honorary Awards was presented to Perran Kutman whose uplifting, soft, and warm expression yields stunning performances that blur the boundaries between comedy and drama, breathing life into characters with which the audience deeply identifies, and who has taken her success on silver screen onto the television screen with such powerful characters such as Perihan Abla. Perran Kutman received her award from Türker İnanoğlu.
Special Award to Türker İnanoğlu
A surprise in the festival was the special award conferred on Türker İnanoğlu in the 60th year of his career for his contribution to the Turkish cinema. Istanbul Film Festival Director Kerem Ayan, together with Perran Kutman presented a gratitude plaque to Türker İnanoğlu. A Cinema Honorary Award of the festival was presented to Türker İnanoğlu in 1999, who, as a central figure in film Turkish industry, directed about 80 films and produced many television and cinema films with Erler Film, which he established in 1960. İnanoğlu has also founded the TÜRVAK Cinema-Theatre Museum in Istanbul.
International Golden Tulip Competition Awards
The International Golden Tulip Competition Jury, presided by the producer of the Oscar-winning film Ida, Ewa Puszczyńska, comprised actress Melisa Sözen, actor Lior Ashkenazy, and video artist Ali Kazma.
In this year’s International Competition, 15 films from 14 countries competed for the Golden Tulip. Given in memory of Şakir Eczacıbaşı, the former chairman of İKSV and one of the founders of the Istanbul Film Festival, the International Golden Tulip Award is once again supported by the Eczacıbaşı Group with a monetary award of €25,000. €10,000 of the total amount is given to the director of the Golden Tulip winning film, €10,000 to the Turkish distributor of this film, and the remaining €5,000 going to the director of the film that wins the Special Jury Prize.
This year the International Golden Tulip Competition Award in memory of Şakir Eczacıbaşı was awarded to the film Un Monstruo De Mil Cabezas / A Monster With A Thousand Heads, directed by Rodrigo Plá. The winner was announced by the Head of Jury Ewa Puszczyńska and the film’s director Rodrigo Plá received the monetary award by Eczacıbaşı Group from the Eczacıbaşı Group Vice President of Corporate Communications Devrim Çubukçu.
Announced by jury member Melisa Sözen and Lior Ashkenazy the International Golden Tulip Competition Special Jury Prize went to the film The Childhood of A Leader, directed by Brady Corbet.
National Golden Tulip Competition Awards
The National Golden Tulip Competition jury was presided over by one of the most prominent actresses of the Turkish cinema, Müjde Ar. The members of the jury for the National Golden Tulip Competition comprised actor Tansu Biçer, author and director Ben Hopkins, actress and director Niki Karimi, author Murat Uyurkulak, and distributor Torsten Frehse. Out of the 11 films competing for the Golden Tulip in the National Competition this year, 4 films made their world premieres and 3 their Turkish premieres at the festival.
The Golden Tulip for the Best Film in the National Competition went to Toz Bezi / Dust Cloth, directed by Ahu Öztürk who received the award from Head of Jury Müjde Ar.
Mustafa Kara won the Golden Tulip for the Best Director for his film Kalandar Soğuğu / Cold of Kalandar. Onur Ünlü presented the award to Mustafa Kara.
In the National Competition, the film that wins the Golden Tulip receives a monetary award of 150,000 TL and the Best Director receives 50,000 TL.
The Special Jury Prize in memory of Onat Kutlar was given to the film Rauf / Rauf, directed by Barış Kaya and Soner Caner. The Special Jury Prize is supported with a 60.000 TL monetary award by Anadolu Efes, theme sponsor for “Turkish Cinema” in the festival for the last 29 years. Announced by jury member Ben Hopkins, the directors of the film received the award from Simge Balaban, Anadolu Efes Corporate Communications Manager.
Asiye Dinçsoy won the Best Actress Award for her role in Toz Bezi / Dust Cloth. She received her award from jury member Tansu Biçer. The winner of the Best Actress award receives 10,000 TL.
Haydar Şişman won the Best Actor Award for his role in Kalandar Soğuğu / Cold of Kalandar. He received his award from jury member Niki Karimi. The winner of the Best Actor award receives 10,000 TL.
The Best Screenplay Award in the National Competition was given to Ahu Öztürk for the film Toz Bezi / Dust Cloth. Jury member Murat Uyurkulak presented the award.
Cevahir Şahin and Kürşat Üresin won the Best Director of Photography Award in the National Competition for the film Kalandar Soğuğu / Cold of Kalandar. Jury member Torsten Frehse presented the award.
The Best Editing Award in the National Competition was given to Mustafa Kara, Umut Sakallıoğlu ve Ali Aga for their work in the film Kalandar Soğuğu / Cold of Kalandar. The award was presented by Çiçek Kahraman.
The Best Original Music Award in the National Competition went to Doğan Duru for the film Tarla / The Field. The award was presented by Mabel Matiz.
National Short Film Competition
In its 35th edition, Istanbul Film Festival has launched the National Short Film Competition with a view to encouraging the making of short films, supporting improvement in this field, and presenting noteworthy short films to audiences. Head of Cannes Film Festival “Short Film Corner” Alice Kharoubi, director Fatih Kızılgök, and film critic Serdar Kökçeoğlu made up the pre-selection board of the competition that had director Can Evrenol, actress Hazal Kaya, and International Short Film Festival DokuFest director Nita Deda on its jury. The film chosen by the jury is supported by a monetary award of 5,000 TL by the Turkish Cinema Theme Sponsor Anadolu Efes.
Ziya Demirel’s film Salı / Tuesday won the Best Short Film Award, which was announced by jury member Can Evrenol. Barış Sarhan’s film Cemil Şov / The Cemil Show won the Special Mention.
National Documentary Competition
Culminating its interest in documentary filmmaking in Turkey, the Istanbul Film Festival has also launched a National Documentary Competition this year and is giving an award, with a view to support documentary films and filmmakers. The Best Documentary Award in the National Documentary Competition is supported by a monetary award of 10,000 TL.
A total of 10 films, 7 of which made their world premieres and 3 their Turkey premiers, competed in the National Documentary Competition. The National Documentary Competition of the Istanbul Film Festival had documentary film directors Emel Çelebi, Güliz Sağlam, and Carlos Hagerman on its jury.
The Best Documentary Award was given to Hazır Ol! / Attention!, directed by Onur Bakır & Panagiotis Charamis.The Others directed by Ayşe Polat won the Special Mention.
Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Prize
Since 2013, the Istanbul Film Festival has been giving a prize in memory of respected producer and director Seyfi Teoman, whom we lost at a young age. Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Prize jury comprises scriptwriter and director Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun, actor Ahmet Rıfat Şungar, and distributor Ioanna Stais.
13 debut films produced in Turkey, which were screened in the festival’s Turkish Cinema section, were nominated for the prize. The winner was presented a monetary award of 30,000 TL via CMYLMZ Fikirsanat. Ahmet Rıfat Şungar announced the winner of the Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Prize as
Çırak / The Apprentice and the film’s director Emre Konuk received the award from Can Yılmaz.
AUDENTIA Award
Eurimages, the Council of Europe co-production fund, took a step towards giving greater visibility to women directors and encouraging other women to walk this path by deciding to offer an award of €30,000 to a female director to use on her next project. 15 films by female directors from the festival programme was assessed for the Audentia Award, which was given for the first time in the world at the 35th Istanbul Film Festival.
Aiming to draw attention to gender inequality in the film industry, the Audentia Award jury was made up of director
Yeşim Ustaoğlu, director Angelos Frantzis, and Sanja Ravlic from the Eurimages.
Announced by Sanja Ravlic and Yeşim Ustaoğlu, the Audentia Award winner was Anca Damian with her film La Montagne Magique / The Magic Mountain.
FACE Film Award of the Council of Europe
Exclusive to the Istanbul Film Festival, the Film Award of the Council of Europe (FACE) given to a film in the Human Rights in Cinema Competition section is now in its 10th year. The winner of FACE is presented a statuette and a monetary award of €10,000 supported jointly by the European Council and Eurimages fund.
The FACE jury comprises actor and author Ercan Kesal, Eurimages Deputy Executive Director Isabel Castro, Media Officer and Spokesperson for the Council of Europe, Can Fişek, and director Jakob Brossmann. The awards of the Human Rights in Cinema Competition were presented by jury member Ercan Kesal.
FACE Film Award of the Council of Europe was given to the film Mediterranea, directed by Jonas Carpignano. The film El Abrazo de la Serpiente / Embrace of the Serpent, directed by Ciro Guerra won the Special Mention.
FIPRESCI International, National, and National Short Film Awards
The International Film Critics Federation FIPRESCI used to give two awards within the scope of the international and national competitions of the Istanbul Film Festival. This year, it introduced a third award within the scope of the National Short Film Competition, which was held for the first time.
The winners of the FIPRESCI Awards were: Auf Einmal / All Of A Sudden directed by Aslı Özge in the International Golden Tulip Competition, Ana Yurdu / Motherland directed by Senem Tüzen the National Golden Tulip Competition, and Jamais Vu directed by Levent Türkan in the National Short Film Competition. The awards were announced by FIPRESCI jury members Chris Fujiwara and Senem Erdine.
The FIPRESCI jury, presided by Chris Fujiwara (USA), comprised Harri Römpötti (Finland), Patrizia Pistagnesi (Italy), Viera Langerova (Slovakia), Senem Erdine (Turkey), and Ali Deniz Şensöz (Turkey).
Cineuropa.org Award
Istanbul Film Festival Cineuropa.org Award winner was chosen by film critic Vladan Petkovic. The Cineuropa.org Award, bestowed on films of undisputed artistic quality, but which also foster mutual communication and have unifying character, was given to the film Toz Bezi / Dust Cloth, directed by Ahu Öztürk, from the Turkish Cinema National Competition.
Bluechip Creative Events gave organisational support to the 35th Istanbul Film Festival Award Ceremony. Following the Award Ceremony, the guests watched Un Monstruo de mil Cabezas / A Monster With A Thousand Heads, directed by Rodrigo Plá, that won the Golden Tulip Award in the International Competition as the closing film of the Festival.
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35TH ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
7-17 April 2016
International Golden Tulip Competition
The International Golden Tulip Competition Jury, presided by Ewa Puszczyńska and comprised of actress Melisa Sözen, actor Lior Ashkenazy, and video artist Ali Kazma, has decided to give;
· the Golden Tulip Award in memory of Şakir Eczacıbaşı to the film Un Monstruo De Mil Cabezas /
A Monster with a Thousand Heads directed by Rodrigo Plá;
· the Special Jury Prize to the film The Childhood of a Leader directed by Brady Corbet.
The Eczacıbaşı Group gives €10,000 to the director of the Golden Tulip winning film and €10,000 to the Turkish distributor of this film, as well as €5,000 to the director of the film that won the Special Jury Prize.
National Golden Tulip Competition
The National Golden Tulip Competition Jury, presided by Müjde Ar and comprised of actor Tansu Biçer, author and director Ben Hopkins, actress and director Niki Karimi, author Murat Uyurkulak, and distributor
Torsten Frehse, has decided to give;
· Golden Tulip Best Film Award to Toz Bezi / Dust Cloth directed by Ahu Öztürk;
· Best Director Award to Mustafa Kara for his film Kalandar Soğuğu / Cold of Kalandar.
The producer of the film that wins the Golden Tulip Award gets a monetary award of 150,000 TL and the Best Director is given 50,000 TL.
· Special Jury Prize in memory of Onat Kutlar is given to the film Rauf, directed by Barış Kaya and
Soner Caner.
Anadolu Efes gives to the producers of the film that won the Special Jury Prize, a monetary award of 60,000 TL.
· Best Actress Award was given to Asiye Dinçsoy for her role in Toz Bezi / Dust Cloth and
· Best Actor Award to Haydar Şişman for his role in Kalandar Soğuğu / Cold of Kalandar.
The winners of the Best Actress and Best Actors awards receive a monetary award of 10,000 TL each.
· Best Screenplay Award was given to Ahu Öztürk for the film Toz Bezi / Dust Cloth;
· Best Director of Photography Award to Cevahir Şahin and Kürşat Üresin for the film Kalandar Soğuğu / Cold of Kalandar;
· Best Editing Award to Mustafa Kara, Umut Sakallıoğlu and Ali Aga for the film Kalandar Soğuğu /
Cold of Kalandar,
· Best Original Music Award to Doğan Duru for the film Tarla / The Field.
National Short Film Competition
In the National Short Film Competition, which had director Can Evrenol, actress Hazal Kaya, and DokuFest director Nita Deda on its jury,
· Ziya Demirel’s film Salı / Tuesday was chosen the Best Short Film.
· Barış Sarhan’s film Cemil Şov / The Cemil Show won the Special Mention.
The winner of the Best Short Film Award is presented a monetary award of 5,000 TL by Anadolu Efes.
National Documentary Competition
In the National Documentary Competition, with documentary film directors Emel Çelebi, Güliz Sağlam, and Carlos Hagerman on its jury;
· Best Documentary Award was given to Onur Bakır and Panagiotis Charamis’ film Hazır Ol! / Attention! “for finding a fresh and intelligent way of talking about an important and difficult subject with humour and personal approach. The jury hope this film will find a large audience by its simple way of storytelling.”
The Best Documentary Award in the National Documentary Competition is supported by a monetary award of 10,000 TL.
The jury also gave the Special Mention to Ayşe Polat’s Ötekiler / The Others “for opening a window to an important issue that has been taboo for too many years in this country. For achieving the trust of the characters to tell their hidden stories, the film tries to find answers in the present to cure the past so we can find the light for the future.”
Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Award
Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Award, with scriptwriter and director Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun, distributor
Ioanna Stais, and actor Ahmet Rıfat Şungar on its jury was given to:
· Çırak / The Apprentice directed by Emre Konuk.
The director of the film that won the Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Award is presented a monetary award of 30,000 TL via CMYLMZ Fikirsanat.
AUDENTIA Award
The Jury, comprised of director Yeşim Ustaoğlu, director Angelos Frantzis, and
Sanja Ravlic’in from the Eurimages decided to give the Audentia Award to;
· La Montagne Magique / The Magic Mountain, directed by Anca Damian.
Audentia Award is given by Eurimages, the Council of Europe co-production fund and aims to draw attention to gender inequality in the film industry. The award of € 30,000 is offered to a female director to use on her next project
FACE, Film Award of the Council of Europe
The jury of the FACE Human Rights in Cinema Competition, comprised of actor and author Ercan Kesal, Eurimages Deputy Executive Director Isabel Castro, Media Officer and Spokesperson for the Council of Europe, Can Fişek, and director Jakob Brossmann, has decided to give the FACE Award to Mediterranea by Jonas Carpignano “for giving a touching and strong insight into the lives of people who were forced to flee from their countries and are trying to survive in Europe.”
The director of the FACE winning film is presented a statuette and a monetary award of € 10,000 supported jointly by the European Council and Eurimages fund.
The jury has also decided to give a special mention to Embrace Of The Serpent by Ciro Guerra “for depicting in a fluent and poetic language, the fact that colonialism destroys not only the resources but also local cultures, and the spirits of the people. ‘If we can’t convince the whites to learn us, it will be our end; it will be the end of everything.’”
FIPRESCI International, National, and National Short Film Awards
The FIPRESCI jury, presided by Chris Fujiwara (USA), comprised Harri Römpötti (Finland), Patrizia Pistagnesi (Italy), Viera Langerova (Slovakia), Senem Erdine (Turkey), and Ali Deniz Şensöz (Turkey).
· The jury gave the FIPRESCI Prize in the International Golden Tulip Competition to Auf Einmal / All Of A Sudden by Aslı Özge, for presenting “an acute analysis of the surprising turns in the life of a young man when a crisis occurs that turns him into an outcast in his own society. We especially value the director’s masterful control of visual and sound design.”
· The jury gave the FIPRESCI Prize in the National Golden Tulip Competition Award to Ana Yurdu / Motherland by Senem Tüzen “for its ability to get universal meaning through its cinematic language, depicting the human pursuit of freedom and identity.”
· The jury gave the FIPRESCI Prize in the National Short Film Competition Award to Jamais Vu by Levent Türkan “for telling the story of broken identity visualized in original and cinematically interesting way.”
Cineuropa.org Award
The 35th Istanbul Film Festival Cineuropa.org Award winner was chosen by film critic Vladan Petkovic. The Cineuropa.org Award was given to the film Toz Bezi / Dust Cloth, directed by Ahu Öztürk, from the National Golden Tulip Competition. Vladan Petkovic stated the motivation "Through a simple story of two women, the director examines the social, cultural, and economic contrasts of the modern Turkish society with a piercing precision. Excellent acting and realistic approach simultaneously give the audience an opportunity to reflect on the situation and feel empathy towards the full-blooded characters."
