The 11th International Antakya Film Festival Introduced to the Press
The promotional meeting for the International Antakya Film Festival was held on Thursday, October 5, 2023, at Feshane Artİstanbul. After the opening speech by festival coordinator Atakan Metin, festival president Mehmet Oflazoğlu presented details about the festival and films through visual presentations.
Metin said, “For the first time, a festival promises the most uncomfortable yet healing experience.”
Explaining the conditions under which the festival, which will be held under the motto “Antakya Varsa Ben de Varım” (If Antakya is there, so am I), festival coordinator Atakan Metin said, “Those who want to come to the festival should first forget their daily comforts. It’s a great opportunity to practice empathy. Remote support and goodwill are all reasonable, but those who want to see the situation on the spot will undoubtedly return to their routines very differently. We are striving to conduct the film festival to the best of our ability, but this year, we will try to heal Antakya with art and cinema. For the first time, a festival promises the most uncomfortable yet healing experience.” Metin expressed his gratitude to the CefWorks team responsible for on-site organization, Datassist for facilitating press transportation to Antakya, Prof. Dr. Emin Önder, the pioneer of industry meetings, Sultan Su for providing water, İBB officials for organizing the press conference, Balaban Dondurma, the festival’s food supplier, and all contributors.
Oflazoğlu: “Film screenings in container cities and tent settlements”
Festival President Mehmet Oflazoğlu provided the following information about film screenings and events in his speech: “Our films will be screened at Koç Container City Amphitheater Stage, Koç Container City Congress Hall, Dostlar Campus / Serinyol, Zübeyde Hanım Container City / Samandağ, and TMMOB Social Activities Tent in Iskenderun.
Events: “Zeynep Öykü Arp Concert and Uçaneller Puppet Theater”
Our events include the Opening Ceremony and Awards Ceremony at Koç Container City, Uçaneller Puppet Theater at Koç Container City, Zeynep Öykü Arp Concert at Dostlar Campus / Serinyol, “Character and Character in the Screenplay” Workshop with Dr. Ersin Aycan (İnönü University, Radio, Television, and Cinema Department) at Koç Container City, and a concert by Teoman Kumbaracıbaşı at Koç Container City.
A First at the Festival: “Industry Meetings”
Oflazoğlu mentioned that for the first time in the 11th year of the festival, industry meetings will be held and shared the details: “Thanks to Prof. Dr. Emin Önder, we are starting our industry days, which will take place on Sunday, October 15, with the sub-theme ‘Spiritual Resilience and Social Support.’ We invite our audience to Koç Container City.”
Industry Meetings
“Spiritual Resilience and Social Support” Event
Koç Container City
1:00 PM Panel: “Conscience Sometimes Hurts”
Session Moderator: Prof. Dr. M. Emin Önder
Conscience torment between self and superego/Dr. İshak Sayğılı
Aggression and conscience/Dr. Arzu Erkan
Morality and conscience/Dr. Hira Selma Kalkan
Literature and conscience/Yaşar Akdemir
Cinema and conscience/Dr. Begüm Sayğılı
3:00 PM Conversation: “Approaching a Role with Conscience”
Nurhan Özenen
Tilbe Saran
5:00 PM Film Screening “12”
Director Nikita Mikhalkov 2007
6:00 PM Film Evaluation “Can Conscience Be Affected?”
Session Moderator: Dr. Caner Fidaner
Dr. Serpil Yandı Vargel
Burcu Kurtiş
Günol Tonbul
Nilay Erdönmez
9:00 PM Concert
Ece O. Şirin
Oflazoğlu: “Turkish cinema is on the same level as world cinema”
Mehmet Oflazoğlu stated that the Antakya Film Festival believes Turkish cinema is on the same level as world cinema, so they decided to merge the lists. He then revealed the film categories and their numbers:
Categories:
Feature Film – 15 films
Documentary Film – 20 films
Short Documentary Film – 15 films
Short Fiction Film – 22 films
Student Short Fiction Film – 9 films
Animation Short Film – 5 films
Experimental Short Film – 5 films
Honorary Awards ‘Orhonsay’ and ‘Taş’
This year, the festival decided to award the ‘Honorary Award’ to Meral Orhonsay for her contributions to Turkish cinema, her uncompromising and courageous stance in female acting. The ‘Cinema Labor Award’ will be presented to Vadullah Taş for his works in cinema, including documentary source books. The ‘Honorary and Labor Awards’ will be presented to the recipients on the festival’s opening day on October 13.
Juries Announced “Feature Films jury president is director Murat Şeker”
This year, director Murat Şeker will lead the jury for the feature film section of the festival. Other members of the jury for evaluation are as follows:
Feature Films
Murat Şeker – Jury President
Didem Balçın
Ceylan Özgün Özçelik
Maryna Er Gorbach
Kida Khodr Ramadan
Terry Chor
Laura Lehmus
Valerie Bert
Kamran Rasoolzadeh
Short Films
Ali Tanrıverdi
Tim Seyfi
Lila Gürmen
Eldiar Madakim
Fesih Alpagu
Documentary
Hayriye Savaşçıoğlu
Atsuko Suetomi
Kadir Kaymakçı
Adzhibaev Ibadylla
Farhan Umedaly
Yeşilçam Jury
Mehmet Güleryüz
Burhan Gün
Çiğdem Vitrinel
The Finalists of the 11th International Antakya Film Festival Have Been Announced!
With the support of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in collaboration with the Ansam Cultural Association and Fotofilm, the “11th International Antakya Film Festival” will take place in Hatay – Antakya from October 13 to 19, 2023. The festival’s finalists were selected by the preliminary jury members: Producer Adnan Çokadar, Director Bengisu Erkaya, Berkay Göçer, Director – Academician Burak Türten, Director Ceren Şahan, Cinema Writer Çağatay Akarca, Director Deniz Sarıbal, Director Ferda Gürcan, Director – Academician Gökçe Kaan Demirkıran, Director of Photography Gürel Kutlular, Director İrem Siyahgöz, Director İsmail Eser, Director İzzet Aslan, Producer Levent Cengizhan, Director Mehtap Özgül, Director – Academician Murat Aytaş, Director Nazmi Gülnar, Director – Academician Said Tuğcu, Cinema Writer Seda Üsübütün, and Academician Sibel Tekin. The winners of the Altındefne Award in the categories of feature film, short film, and documentary will be announced at the closing ceremony on October 19, and the prestigious awards will find their recipients this year.
