Next month marks the seventh edition of the Antalya Film Forum, the co-production market and project development platform of the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. The Festival, now in its 57th year, is to be hosted by Muhittin Böcek, the Mayor of Antalya, from October 3-10, 2020, while the Forum will take place entirely online from October 5-7. The line-up of Features and Documentary Work-in-Progress projects selected to compete at the Forum has been unveiled.
The Antalya Film Forum will award a total TL470 thousand worth of cash prizes to nine projects across five categories.
Five Projects Selected for Features Work-in-Progress Platform
This year, 16 projects were submitted to the Features Work-in-Progress Platform of the Antalya Film Forum, a sidebar event of the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival that provides funding and networking support to newly emerging projects. Five projects have been shortlisted from the 16 submissions by a selection committee comprised of: Burcu Hanağasıoğlu, the Content Acquisitions Director at Kanal D and Teve2; Emma Boa, Senior Projects Manager for the Edinburgh International Film Festival; and Geremia Biagiotti, Sales and Marketing Director for the Italian film distributor, Intramovies, which last year picked up two projects from the Antalya Film Forum.
The five selected projects are: Dialogue (Diyalog), produced and directed by Ali Tansu Turhan with BurcuUğuz also producing; Snow and the Bear (Kar veAyı), directed by Selcen Ergun with Nefes Polat producing; Corridor (Koridor), directed by Erkan Tahhuşoğlu and produced by Zeynep Koray, İris Tahhuşoğlu and Yunus Yunusoğlu; Time of Impatience (Sabırsızlık Zamanı), produced and directed by Aydın Orak; and Zuhal, directed by Nazlı Elif Durlu with Anna Maria Aslanoğlu producing. The jury will vote to award cash prizes of TL80 thousand and TL40 thousand to two different projects. In this section, TRT Award worth TL50 thousand and Başka Sinema Distribution and Promotion Award will be given.
Seven Projects Selected for Documentary Work-in-Progress Platform
For the Documentary Work-in-Progress category, 32 submissions were received, from which seven projects were shortlisted to pitch at the Forum by a selection committee composed of: Karolina Lidin, a documentary consultant for Nordisk Film & TV Fond with 25 years of international experience; Martina Droandi, documentary distributor at Autlook Film Sales who has spent many years working as a short film producer and distributor across Europe; and Özge Calafato, an academic who has worked as a selection committee member, curator and consultant for a number of festivals and institutions, including the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Documentarist, DOK Leipzig, Doha Film Institute and DokuFest.
The selected projects are: Leave the Door Open (Bırakın Kapı Açık Kalsın), directed by Ümran Safter with Suraj Sharma producing; Drifting (Boşlukta), produced and directed by Somnur Vardar; Witch Trilogy 15+ (Cadı Üçlemesi 15+), directed by Ceylan Özgün Özçelik with Armağan Lale producing; Duet (Düet), directed by İdil Akkuş and Ekin İlkbağ with Ali Bilgin producing; Within the Shadow of Memories (Hatırların Gölgesinde), directed by Şafak Şahin and produced by Emek Yıldırım Şahin; Whitewash (Örtbaş), directed by Ahmet Necdet Çupur with Nadir Öperli, Delphine Morel and Anke Petersen producing; and Life Beyond Borders (Sınırsız Hayatlar), produced and directed by Haydar Demirtaş with Can Deniz Şahin and Hasan Demirtaş also producing.
Documentary Work-in-Progress supports documentary projects either nearing the end of shooting or in post-production. This year, TL60 thousand worth of prize money will be awarded to two projects in the category. Documentary projects will also compete for the Postbıyık Sound Post Production Award and Başka Sinema Distribution Award.
Awards to Be Presented at Ceremony on October 7
As the industry arm of the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival—an event sponsored by the Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism—the Antalya Film Forum has supported films that have gone on to win a slew of national and international awards. The Forum will continue this year in its mission to support the development of the Turkish film industry, to expand co-production opportunities for projects from Turkey, and to strengthen ties between Turkey and the international film industry. The jury will be announced in the coming days and the awards decided upon by its members will be presented to the winners at a ceremony on the evening of Wednesday, October 7.
Directed by Olena Yershova Yıldız, the Antalya Film Forum also incorporates the Feature Film Pitching Platform, the Sümer Tilmaç Antalya Film Support Fund—which seeks to incentivize filmmaking in Antalya—and the Series/Miniseries Pitching Platform, inaugurated this year. The projects selected for each of these categories will be announced in the next few days.
The 57th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival is chaired by Muhittin Böcek, the Mayor of Antalya, and executive directed by Cansel Çevikol Tuncer, with Ahmet Boyacıoğlu taking the role of Festival director and Başak Emre of artistic director.
