Balkans documentary festival holds great importance for Turkish broadcaster TRT

By Ahmet Nurduhan

SARAJEVO (AA) – National broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) places a high value on taking part in the Balkans Documentary Film Festival, which is being put on by Al Jazeera Balkans for the fifth time this year as the worldwide communication partner of Anadolu Agency.

TRT Cinema Director Faruk Guven, who attended the festival, and Ensar Altay, who worked as a director at TRT World and was on the festival jury, discussed its relevance with Anadolu Agency.

Guven said that TRT takes part in a variety of festivals and that they are competing in both the competitive and project development sections of the festival.

"We’re interested in the work in progress sections of festivals since this is where projects are brought to the network for the first time, where they are developed, and where co-producers and additional financing can be sought while they’re being created. We came across the invitation from Al Jazeera Balkans since we place a high value on these regions," he said.

"There are a lot of powerful people in the industry here. They are laying the groundwork for their content to be released in many locations throughout the world with the Al Jazeera Balkans documentary segment, possibly from now on," he added.

Ensar Altay, who works as a director at TRT World and is the only Turkish jury member this year, said he has been following the festival for five years and added, "Year after year, I have personally witnessed how a festival can have the power to have an international impact; I follow it with admiration."

"I am really glad that (the Balkans festival) has developed into a very prestigious festival that documentaries across Europe look forward to and focus on," Altay added.

Altay stated that he adores Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that Sarajevo is a cultural melting pot where east and west meet, and that he is delighted to be there.