Gaspar Noe bags top award at Istanbul Film Festival

By Handan Kazanci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Argentine director Gaspar Noe has won the Golden Tulip for Vortex, his latest psychological drama, at this year’s Istanbul Film Festival, organizers announced Wednesday.

The film, focusing on the last days of an aged couple suffering dementia, also received FIPRESCI Prizes at the 41st Istanbul Film Festival, which was held on April 8-20, said the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) in a statement.

Vortex premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Speaking to IndieWire, the Paris-based director, 58, explained that a recent near-death experience had "inspired a very different kind of movie."

“One year-and-a-half ago, I had a brain hemorrhage and almost died. I survived it and miraculously, I did not have any brain damage,” he said.

Noe said that he spent six months watching the movies of late Japanese film master Kenji Mizoguchi (1898-1956). "It was probably the most peaceful moment of my whole life.”

Noe explained that both his mother and grandmother “lost their mind … died of it.”

“It’s just a magical process that some of the brightest people on the planet are some of the first to lose their minds,” he said. “I wanted to dedicate the movie at the beginning to all of the people who lose their minds before their lose their hearts.”

An awards ceremony was held Tuesday at Istanbul’s Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall.

During the festival, films by 164 directors from 43 countries were screened over the course of a dozen days. “A total of 56 films competed in the international and national competitions of the festival,” the statement added.

- Winners at this year’s festival

International Competition

Golden Tulip – Vortex / Gaspar Noe

Special Jury Prize – Mariner of the Mountains / O marinheiro das montanhas / Karim Ainouz

National Competition

Golden Tulip Best Film – Klondike / Maryna Er Gorbach

Special Jury Prize (in memory of Onat Kutlar) – Cilingir Sofrası / A Night in Four Parts / Ali Kemal Guven

Best Director – Tayfun Pirselimoglu

Best Screenplay – Nazli Elif Durlu, Ziya Demirel (Zuhal & Ela and Hilmi with Ali)

Best Actress – Ece Yuksel (Ela and Hilmi with Ali)

Best Actor – Ahmet Rifat Sungar & Baris Gonenen (Cilingir Sofrası / A Night in Four Parts)

Special Mention – Denizhan Akbaba (Ela and Hilmi with Ali)

Best Cinematography – Sviatoslav Bulakovskyi-Klondike

Best Editing – Buğra Dedeoğlu, Selda Taşkın (Zuhal)

Best Art Director – Natali Yeres (Kerr)

Best Original Score – Taner Yücel (Bana Karanlığını Anlat / Tell Me About Your Darkness)

National Documentary Competition

Best Documentary – Eat Your Catfish / Senem Tuzen, Adam Isenberg, Noah Amir Arjomand

Special Mention – Her Sey Dahil / All-In / Volkan Uce

Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film – Zuhal / Nazli Elif Durlu

National Short Film Competition

Best Short Film – Our Ark / Deniz Tortum, Kathryn Hamilton

Special Mention – Gece Kusagı / The Night Generation / Yasemin Demirci

FIPRESCI Prizes

International Competition – Vortex / Gaspar Noe

National Competition – Ela and Hilmi with Ali / Ziya Demirel