The 35th Ankara Film Festival came to an end with an awards ceremony. Hemme’nin Öldüğü Günlerden Biri was named Best Film, while its director, Murat Fıratoğlu, won the Best Director award.
Haşim KILIÇ
THE closing ceremony of the festival, organized by the World Mass Communication Research Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s General Directorate of Cinema, the State Theatres General Directorate, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Çankaya Municipality, and the EU Delegation to Turkey, was held at Şinasi Sahnesi. Hosted by Nefise Karatay, the ceremony began with a tribute to Festival President İnci Demirkol, who recently passed away due to cancer.
“YOU ARE ALL WINNERS”
Awards were presented in categories of documentaries, short films, and feature films. The National Feature Film Competition jury was chaired by Onur Saylak, actors Burcu Biricik and Serkan Keskin, and editor Çiçek Kahraman. During his speech, Saylak remarked: “Don’t dwell too much on whether you win an award or not. While violence continues against the Palestinian people in Gaza and we struggle to protect women, children, and even babies in our region, these concerns should not overwhelm us. I congratulate all filmmakers. In a time when we wake up every morning wondering what new taxes will be imposed, you have brought ideas to the screen through years of effort, passion, and determination on small budgets. You are the true winners of all the awards.”
DOCUMENTARY AWARDS
The evening began with awards in the documentary category. Bir Orkestranın İzinde won the “VEKAM Special Award,” while Zamanın Kıyısında Sınav received the “National Documentary Film Competition Jury Special Award.” The “Best Documentary Award” went to Sürgün Asla Bitmez.
SHORT FILMS
In the short film category, Görüşürüz Kaplumbağa and Günaydın Anne shared the “National Short Film Competition Jury Special Award,” while the “Best Short Film Award” was awarded to Mori.
FEATURE FILM AWARDS
Finally, the awards in the National Feature Film category were announced. The “SİYAD Best Film Award” went to Büyük Kuşatma. Matteo Cocco won the “Best Cinematography Award” for Gecenin Kıyısı, while Eyyüp Zana Ekinci was awarded the “Best Editing Award” for Hemme’nin Öldüğü Günlerden Biri. Ahmet Kenan Bilgiç received the “Best Original Score Award” for Hakkı, and Natali Yeres won the “Best Art Direction Award” for Büyük Kuşatma.
ACTING AWARDS
Serkan Ercan was awarded “Best Supporting Actor” for his role in Ölü Mevsim, while Ece Yaşar took home “Best Supporting Actress” for the same film.
The “Best Actor Award” went to Alp Öyken for his performance in Büyük Kuşatma, while Serpil Gül won “Best Actress” for her role in Döngü.
The “Onat Kutlar Best Screenplay Award” was presented to Erkan Tahhuşoğlu for Döngü, and the “Best Director Award” went to Murat Fıratoğlu for Hemme’nin Öldüğü Günlerden Biri.
The “Mahmut Tali Öngören Best First Film Award” was given to Doğuş Algün for Ölü Mevsim.
The festival’s top honor, the “İnci Demirkol Best Film Award,” was presented to Hemme’nin Öldüğü Günlerden Biri.
A FESTIVAL OF LOSS
Festival Director İrfan Demirkol described the event as the most sorrowful in its history:
“This was the most painful festival I’ve experienced, as I lost my closest companion. Thank you for standing by me. We lost İnci just hours before the opening ceremony. When asked if we would cancel, I said the white screen must never close under any circumstances. Ankara Film Festival only ever halted once, during the Gulf War. Despite many obstacles, including the pandemic, we ensured the festival continued with health precautions in place.”
