Ghosts wins 5 awards at Golden Orange Festival

By Hatice Ozdemir Tosun

ANTALYA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish movie Ghosts became the star of the 57th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, winning the most awards in the national full-length films category.

Held under strict COVID-19 measures, the closing and awards ceremony of the festival was held in an open area in the Glass Pyramid, a multi-purpose convention complex in the resort city of Antalya.

Azra Deniz Okyay, who directed Ghosts, won the award for Best Director.

The Best Scenario Award went to Tunc Sahin, the writer of People Divide in Two; Best Director of Cinematography was Hayk Kirakosyan for his movie In the Shadows, while the Best Music award was won by Greg Dombrowsk for the same film.

- International full-length film awards

Jasmila Zbanic’s Quo Vadis, Aida? was awarded the Best Film, whereas Massoud Bakhshi became the Best Director for Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness.

Ali Suliman for 200 Meters, and Salim Daw for Gaza Mon Amour shared the Best Actor award.

Natasa Stork for her role in Preparations to Be Together For an Unknown Period of Time was awarded Best Actress.

The festival, also known as Turkey's Oscars, was organized by Antalya's local government with the support of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism from Oct. 3-10.

- 57th edition

Marking its 57th year, 12 full-length films competed in 16 categories. The festival also held a few events online.

While every year posters of a prominent cinema artist are featured, this time photographs of a healthcare worker, who heroically fought coronavirus, were displayed. At least 50 free entry passes for each movie were also set aside for health professionals.

While 44 films, including those competing in the festival, were shown outdoors instead of indoor theaters, seating arrangements were made while following social distancing norms. Masks were mandatory for everyone.

Writer and director Emin Alper, Romanian producer Ada Solomon, Frederic Boyer, art director of Les Arcs European Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival, Iranian actress and screenwriter Niki Karimi, and Brazilian director Sandra Kogut were part of the jury for the international feature film competition.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin