The Antalya Film Forum, the co-production market and project development arm of the 57th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival—an event sponsored by the Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism—has announced its line-up of Pitching for Feature Films in Development, Sümer Tilmaç Antalya Film Support Fund Pitching Platform and Series/Short Series Pitching Platform projects.
The seventh edition of the Antalya Film Forum will be held from October 5-7 and hosted by Muhittin Böcek, the Mayor of Antalya, with all events taking place online. Set up with a dual mission, the Forum seeks to bring together independent directors, producers and screenwriters from Turkey with professionals from the international film industry, and to create funding for new and emerging film projects.
As one of the strands of the Forum, the Sümer Tilmaç Antalya Film Support Fund Pitching Platform was inaugurated to support each year a single Turkish feature film planning to shoot at least two-thirds of its content in the city of Antalya, on the proviso that the same proportion of Antalya scenes is retained in its final cut. 15 submissions were received for the Fund this year, from which a shortlist of three projects has been drawn up by a selection committee comprising: the director, Tevfik Başer; the academic and playwright, Yeşim Gökçe; and the film critic, Burak Göral. The three selected projects are: Apollon by Day, Athena by Night (Gündüz Apollon, Gece Athena), written and directed by Emine Yıldırım with Dilde Mahalli also on board as producer; Before the Dark (Karanlıktan Önce), written and directed by İsmet Akgün and produced by Okan Üzey; and Summer Dreams (Yaz Düşleri), written and directed by Aytaç Uzun with Nermin Aytekin producing. The winning project will be awarded a TL150 thousand prize, in addition to a Post Production Award sponsored by Fono Film.
Eight Projects Selected for Pitching for Feature Films in Development
This year, 64 projects were submitted to the Pitching for Feature Films in Development, a category open to feature films in development with a producer and director from Turkey attached. The shortlist of eight projects has been decided on by a selection committee composed of: Claudia Landsberger, a Dutch independent consultant who spent 20 years at the helm of EYE International; Dilde Mahalli, the producer of award-winning films, Something Useful (İşe Yarar Bir Şey), Queen Lear (Kraliçe Lear) and Chronology (Kronoloji); Nadir Öperli, a producer who launched his career with Summer Book (Tatil Kitabı) and has since made multiple award-winning films, including most recently A Tale of Three Sisters (Kız Kardeşler); and the German screenwriter-producer, Stefan Gieren, whose short film, Raju, was nominated for the 2012 Academy Awards.
The official selection for the Pitching for Feature Films in Development has been announced as follows: Bonds (Bağlar), directed by Soner Sert with Seçkin Akyıldız producing; Not as You Know It (Bildiğin Gibi Değil),produced and directed by Vuslat Saraçaoğlu; The Witch (Cadı), directed by Erman Bostan with Nilüfer Küyel producing; When the Sun Comes Out (Güneş), directed by Zeynep Güzel with Beste Yamalıoğlu, Armağan Lale and Cansu Menlikli producing; A Deserved Kiss (Hak Edilmiş Bir Öpücük), directed by Murat Uğurlu and produced by Asena Bulduk; The Ashes (Kül), produced and directed by Hüseyin Karabey; Unknown (Meçhul), directed by Lusin Dink with Özcan Alper and İbrahim Karatay producing; and Seven (Yedi), directed by M. Tayfur Aydın and produced by Diloy Gülün.
Following the jury’s deliberation, two projects from the Pitching for Feature Films in Development line-up will be selected for cash awards, each worth TL30 thousand, and a further project for the Film Standartları Post Production Award.
New This Year: Series/Short Series Pitching Platform
Under the directorship of Olena Yershova Yıldız, the Antalya Film Forum has introduced a new category to its program this year to reflect the growing role and importance of series in the audiovisual industry. With a brief to identify new talent, to encourage the development of original and creative content through national and international backing, and to support producers, the Series/Short Series Pitching Platform received 35 submissions in this, its inaugural year. From these, a shortlist of six projects has been produced by the selection committee, whose members included: Janka Neustupova, a Czech producer who has put her name to several successful film and television projects; Dirk Decker, a German producer, co-founder of Tamtam Film and member of the European Film Academy; and Zeynep Can, a member of the team at BluTV Dramas.
The shortlisted projects are: Keys & the Story of Era (Anahtarlar ve Era’nın Hikayesi), written, created, produced and directed by Doğacan Aktaş; Berlinist, written, created and produced by Serdar Kökçeoğlu, created, produced and directed by Levent Çetin; Giving Birth to a Criminal (Bir Suçluyu Doğurmak), written and created by Ahmet İlker Coşkun and Deniz Bayraktaroğlu with Deniz Bayraktaroğlu producing; Men of Istanbul (İstanbul’un Erkekleri), written, created and directed by Ali Kemal Güven with Seda Özkaraca producing; A Slow-Cooked Heart (Kısık Ateşte Pişmiş Kalp), created and directed by Can Evrenol, written by Jamie Grefe and produced by Bora Yüksel; and Matryoshka (Matruşka), written, created and directed by Mustafa Haktanır with Yonca Ertürk producing.
The six selected projects will compete for two separate trophies: firstly, the TL30 thousand BluTV Award to be used in the production of a pilot episode, and secondly, the Color up Color Correction Award.
The juries for all categories of the Antalya Film Forum will be announced in the coming 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.
SÜMER TİLMAÇ ANTALYA FILM SUPPORT FUND PITCHING PALTFORM
Apollon By Day Athena By Night (Gündüz Apollon Gece Athena)
Scriptwriter, Director: Emine Yıldırım
Producers: Dilde Mahalli, Emine Yıldırım
Before The Dark (Karanlıktan Önce)
Scriptwriter, Director: İsmet Akgün
Producer: Okan Üzey
Summer Dreams (Yaz Düşleri)
Scriptwriter, Director: Aytaç Uzun
Producer: Nermin Aytekin
PITCHING FOR FEATURE FILMS IN DEVELOPMENT
Bonds (Bağlar)
Director: Soner Sert
Producer: Seçkin Akyıldız
Not As You Know It (Bildiğin Gibi Değil)
Director: Vuslat Saraçoğlu
Producer: Vuslat Saraçoğlu
The Witch (Cadı)
Director: Erman Bostan
Producer: Nilüfer Küyel
When The Sun Comes Out (Güneş)
Director: Zeynep Güzel
Producers: Beste Yamalıoğlu, Armağan Lale, Cansu Menlikli
A Deserved Kiss (Hak Edilmiş Bir Öpücük)
Director: Murat Uğurlu
Producer: Asena Bulduk
The Ashes (Kül)
Director: Hüseyin Karabey
Producer: Hüseyin Karabey
Unknown (Meçhul)
Director: Lusin Dink
Producers: Özcan Alper, İbrahim Karatay
Seven (Yedi)
Director: M. Tayfur Aydın
Producer: Diloy Gülün
SERIES/SHORT SERIES PITCHING PLATFORM
Keys & The Story Of Era (Anahtarlar ve Era'nın Hikâyesi)
Creator, Scriptwriter, Director, Producer: Doğacan Aktaş
Berlinist
Creators: Levent Çetin, Serdar Kökçeoğlu
Scriptwriter: Serdar Kökçeoğlu
Director: Levent Çetin
Producers: Levent Çetin, Serdar Kökçeoğlu
Giving Birth to a Criminal (Bir Suçluyu Doğurmak)
Creators, Scriptwriters: Ahmet İlker Coşkun, Deniz Bayraktaroğlu
Producer: Deniz Bayraktaroğlu
Men Of Istanbul (İstanbul'un Erkekleri)
Creator, Scriptwriter, Director: Ali Kemal Güven
Producer: Seda Özkaraca
Slow Cooked Heart (Kısık Ateşte Pişmiş Kalp)
Creator, Director: Can Evrenol
Scriptwriter: Jamie Grefe
Producer: Bora Yüksel
Matryoshka (Matruşka)
Creator, Scriptwriter, Director: Mustafa Haktanır
Producer: Yonca Ertürk
