GOLDEN ORANGE FILM CRITICS JURY

The Antalya Golden Orange International Film Festival will honour the name of veteran film critic Sungu Çapan with the “Sungu Çapan Film Critics Jury.” The jury, composed of film critics, will include renowned writers from both Turkey and around the world.

The 62nd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, to be held between October 24 and November 2, 2025, will honour the name of veteran film critic Sungu Çapan, who also served as editor of the festival catalogues for a period, with the “Sungu Çapan Film Critics Jury” composed of local and foreign film critics. Two separate juries, each consisting of three members, will evaluate the films in the national and international competitions. These juries will include film writers and critics from both Turkey and around the world.

Sungu Çapan, who studied at the Graphic Arts Department of the State Academy of Fine Arts, published his first articles in the Social Justice magazine and his first cinema articles in the Forum magazine.Çapan, one of the founders of the Turkish Cinematheque Association, also served as editor of the association's publication, Yeni Sinema magazine. After continuing his education in Paris from 1968 to 1971, Çapan worked in the advertising industry upon his return to Turkey, then shifted his focus to journalism and film criticism.

From the 1970s onwards, Çapan published numerous critiques, reviews, and interviews in various newspapers and magazines. He also wrote regular film reviews for the Cumhuriyet Newspaper for over forty years.

Çapan, who also served as editor of the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival catalogues for many years, has translated works from French, German, English, and Italian.

Having become a reference in the world of cinema with over half a century of productivity and honoured with the 2018 Burhan Felek Press Service Award from the Turkish Journalists' Association, Çapan passed away in 2023.

This year, the Sungu Çapan National Jury of Film Critics includes Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gül Yaşartürk, Prof. Müjgan Yıldırım, and Prof. Bojidar Manov. The jury of the international competition consists of Vecdi Sayar, Özge Çeliktemel, and Ingrid Beerbaum.

Sungu Çapan National Jury of Film Critics:

Associate Professor Dr Gül Yaşartürk, a faculty member at Akdeniz University's Faculty of Communication, served as a visiting researcher at Lancaster University's Department of Sociology and Amsterdam University's Faculty of Social Sciences. Yaşartürk, who has been publishing film articles in various media since 2001, has authored the books “Rums in Turkish Cinema” and “Cinema and Social Gender. " She also edited the book Işık Gölge Oyunları: Ümit Ünal” and compiled the articles that make up the book Ve Sinema, which evaluates examples of Turkish cinema after the 1990s.

Prof. Müjgan Yıldırım, Head of the Cartoon and Animation Department at Maltepe University's Faculty of Fine Arts, began her career in journalism at Hürriyet Pazar. Yıldırım, who is also a documentary filmmaker, has published books such as “Doğan Kuban: A Rönesans Adamı,” “ Edebiyatçı Mimarlar Antolojisi,” and, in collaboration with Burçak Evren, “Türk Sinemasının İlk Uzun Metrajlı Çizgi Filmi: Evvel Zaman İçinde“ as well as many other books she has prepared for publication, including” Film Yapımının Temelleri- Jane Barnwell “, ”19. yy'da İzmir Kenti- Rauf Beyru“, and ”Turgutreis – 1974-Suha Özkan, Richard Plunz."

Prof. Bojidar Manov, a lecturer at New Bulgarian University, is a versatile figure who has also served as vice president of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and dean of the Cinema Faculty at the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts. Manov, who has published 14 books and translated 7 novels, has served as a jury member at festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Busan, Karlovy Vary, and San Sebastian. Manov is also a member of the European Film Academy (EFA)

Sungu Çapan International Jury of Film Critics:

Vecdi Sayar, who continues to write about cinema for Birgün newspaper, is one of the key figures in Turkey's cultural history. Together with Prof. Oğuz Onaran, he established the General Directorate of Cinema at the Ministry of Culture and, as Director of TÜRKFİLM, oversaw Turkey's official participation in the Oscars, managed the opening of the Turkish pavilion at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals, and founded the Turkish Cinema and Audiovisual Culture Foundation (TÜRSAK). Sayar is also known for his roles as a stage designer, art director, and festival director.

Served as a member of the Ankara Cinematheque Association and the Turkish Cinematheque Association, Director of the Istanbul City Theaters Technical Department, Advisor to the Ministry of Culture, Cultural Advisor to the Embassy of Turkey in Paris, Secretary General of the Balkan Film Festival, Program Director of the Istanbul International Cinema Days / Film Festival, Artistic Director of the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Cultural Officer of the Turkish Pavilion at EXPO '92 in Seville, Director of Artistic Programs for HABITAT '96, Board of Directors of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency.

He served on FIPRESCI juries at festivals including Cannes and Berlin. He organised collective screenings of Turkish cinema at the New York MOMA, the London National Film Museum NFT, the Madrid Cinemateca, and the Nantes, Montreal, and Verona Film Festivals.

Sayar, who has served as artistic director for interdisciplinary events such as Human Rights 2000, Bursa Film Festival, Istanbul-Hakkari Art Bridge, International Youth and Film Festival, Datça Can Festival, Islands Festival, European-Anatolian Cultures Meeting, and PERA FEST, has produced art programs and documentaries for the “2 -Film Birden” program on TRT 2, as well as for Sky and Artı 1 channels. Sayar has published columns and film reviews in numerous newspapers and magazines and has also served as editor of Video Sinema magazine.

Sayar, who teaches at Yıldız Technical University and Bilgi University, also served as the chair of the Autonomous Arts Council, the Secretary General of the Turkish Writers' Union, and the President of PEN International Writers' Union Turkey. Currently, President of the Board of Directors of the Intercultural Arts Association, Director of the Izmir International Film and Music Festival, Izmir Comedy Festival, Literature-Cinema Meeting, and Mediterranean Cinemas Meeting.

Özde Çeliktemel, a visiting faculty member in the History Department at Boğaziçi University, specialises in media studies, early cinema history, and visual culture in the Ottoman Empire. Çeliktemel, who completed his PhD at University College London on “The Control of Cinema and Film Censorship in the Ottoman Empire,” has published articles in numerous journals, including the compilation Directory of World Cinema: Turkey (2013). Çeliktemel is a member of the Cinema Research Centre (SİAMER).

Ingrid Beerbaum worked in various areas of cultural journalism for radio, television, and newspapers in Berlin. Specialising in cinema, Beerbaum currently works primarily as a film critic for different online magazines. Beerbaum, who focuses particularly on documentaries and Eastern European cinema in general, also serves as a moderator at film festivals in Germany. Beerbaum is the president of the German Media Journalists Association (BVMJ), which is a member of FIPRESCI