TRT Turkish films winning at local, global festivals

By Yasemin Kalyoncuoglu

ANKARA (AA) – Three movies co-produced by Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) have racked up awards at film festivals in both New York and Turkey, the national broadcaster said Thursday.

Omar and Us brought home the Best World Film Award at New York’s Harlem International Film Festival, and two other features, Mavzer (Mauser) and Ceviz Agaci (Silenced Tree), won five awards total at the International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival in southern Turkey, said a TRT statement.

Omar and Us, co-directed by Maryna Er Gorbach and Mehmet Bahadir Er, will also compete in the refugee section of the IMAGINDIA Film Festival in Madrid, Spain on Sept. 26, and at Ukraine’s Odessa Film Festival in late September.

Director Fatih Ozcan’s Mavzer and Faysal Sosyal’s Ceviz Agaci won two awards at the International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival held on Sept. 14-20.

Golgeler Icinde, a film by Erdem Tepegoz co-produced with TRT support, is set to compete at the prestigious Moscow International Film Festival slated for Oct. 1-8.

The film’s lead is Numan Acar, an actor featured in international projects such as Homeland, Prison Break, and Aladdin.