Miracle in Adana and Golden Boll Prize Winners

17-06-2009

Miracle in Adana and Golden Boll Prize Winners

By Anna Franklin

Fest organizers accomplished the impossible in Adana, Turkey, putting on a seamlessly well organized international event under very difficult conditions this year.

The 16^th Golden Boll International International Film Festival (http://www.altinkozafestivali.org.tr/), held 8-14 June in the southern Turkish city of Adana, was greenlighted only seven weeks before its launch. Working round the clock fest organizers from the Adana Municipality and Ahmet Boyacioglu, Basak Emre and their Festival on Wheels (http://www.europeanfilmfestival.com/) team put on a first class event with a programme of new Turkish short and feature films as well as an international competition of Mediterranean short films. The programme included round tables, Q&A with directors and other events and was attended by top Turkish celebs as well as international guests.

Turkey's hottest international filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan was the president of the jury and one of the highlights of the programme was a Bilge Ceylan retrospective.

This year's edition of the festival was in doubt due to a domestic political wrangle that meant festival President and Adana mayor Aytac Durak who is the festival's main backer was unable to greenlight the festival until mid-April. During the festival, in a sudden surprise move, the Turkish Ministry of Culture pledged to double its funding for next year's edition.

The festival is no stranger to political controversy. Founded in 1969 by a left-wing cultural-political group around the legendary Turkish filmmaker Yilmaz Guney the festival was shut down several years later when a military junta took over the country. It was restarted only in 1992 when a social democratic mayor of Adana was elected. Guney who is a native of the city shot his masterpiece The Hope in and around Adana and one of the fest's top awards is named in his honour.

With Turkish films winning prizes worldwide last year the Adana fest is bound to become an important date on the calendar of fest programmers in future.

National Feature Film Competition

Best Film: Two Films

Men on the Bridge (Aslı Özge)

Produers Yeni Sinemacilik (http://www.koprudekiler.com/)

Coproducers: Endorphine Production GmbH (http://www.endorphineproduction.com/) Germany,

Yeni Sinemacılık (http://www.yenisinemacilik.com/) Turkey, and Kaliber Film (http://www.kaliberfilm.nl/) Netherlands

10 to 11 (Pelin Esmer)

Producer Sinefilm (http://www.sinefilm/.com)

Yilmaz Guney Award (Special Prize of the Jury):

On the Way to School (Özgür Doğan, Orhan Eskiköy)

Produer Peri-san Film (http://www.perisanfilm.com/)

Best Director: Wrong Rosary (Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun)