INDUSTRY EXPERTS ON FILM FORUM JURIES
The names of those who will evaluate the 20 finalist projects at the Film Forum, part of the 62nd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, have been announced.
The juries for Film Forum, the co-production and project development platform of the 62nd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, which will be held between October 24 and November 2, 2025, are composed of leading national and international figures in the industry.
The finalist projects will present their pitches at 12:00 PM on October 27 at the major industry gathering taking place at Hotel Su on October 27-28. At the awards ceremony on October 28, the films of the future will receive their first support and embark on their journey.
This year, the Film Forum Work In Progress Jury consists of Gabor Kriegler, Michaela Sabo, and Gökçe Işıl Tuna. The Pitching Jury includes Onur Ünlü, Çiğdem Vitrinel, and Funda Alp.
Film Forum Work in Progress Jury:
Gabor Kriegler began his career in 1999 as a writer at Grundy UFA, an Australian-German joint venture. In 2010, he became Creative Director at HBO Europe's Budapest office. In 2019, he founded his own company, Joyrider, to create and develop high-end scripted content for the international market. Gabor also serves as the Head of Studies for the Midpoint Institute's series-related programs and as a guest instructor at various international drama series workshops.
Michaela Sabo studied theatre dramaturgy in Prague and screenwriting at UCLA in Los Angeles. She also graduated from the German Film and Television Academy Berlin's (DFFB) Serial Eyes program in series storytelling and showmanship.
She has worked as a freelance writer, creative producer, and development executive on five television series and various film projects at different stages of production.
Additionally, she provides story development training at the Sarajevo Film Festival, Serial Eyes – DFFB, Series Mania – Writers Campus, Midpoint Institute, Karlovy Vary UFF, Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights, Torino Lab, and Eureka Series festivals.
Motiva Film's founder and producer, Gökçe Işıl Tuna, graduated from Bilgi University's Department of Cinema and Television. She also studied screenwriting at the New York Film Academy and project management at the University of California, Irvine.
She participated in the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs Workshop (EAVE). He worked with Ali Aydın, Seren Yüce, Bahman Ghobadi, and Erdem Tepegöz. She has directed internationally acclaimed films: Ich Liebe Dich (2012), Küf (2012, Venice “Lion of the Future”), Rüzgarda Salınan Nilüfer (2015, Montreal “Best Screenplay”), and The Four Walls (2020, Tokyo “Best Actor”). She is currently working on Selda Taşkın's first feature film project, “Yaşlı Kadının Gardiyanları”. The project received the ArteKino Award and the Melodika Sound Award at the 2025 Istanbul Meetings on the Bridge.
Film Forum Pitching Jury:
After completing his advertising education, director Onur Ünlü, who went on to earn a master's degree in cinema, is one of Turkey's most original filmmakers. He began his directing career in 2006 with “Polis” and has since directed films such as “Güneşin Oğlu,” “Beş Şehir,” “Celal Tan ve Ailesinin Aşırı Acıklı Hikayesi,” “Sen Aydınlatırsın Geceyi,” “İtirazım Var,” “Topal Şükran’ın Maceraları,” “Put Şeylere,” “Kırık Kalpler Bankası,” and “Bomboş.”
The series he directed, “Leyla ile Mecnun,” “Şubat,” “Beş Kardeş,” and “Ben de Özledim,” have become television classics. Ünlü, one of the founders of Eflatun Film, has also published a collection of poetry and two novels.
Çiğdem Vitrinel, who won the Best Director award at the 48th Antalya International Film Festival for her first film, "Geriye Kalan", also won the Best Cinematography award at the 51st Antalya International Film Festival for her second film, "Fakat Müzeyyen Bu Derin Bir Tutku". Vitrinel is currently working on her third film, “Nasıl Yapmalı?”
Funda Alp, alongside Onur Ünlü, founded Eflatun Film, producing films “Şubat”, “Leyla ile Mecnun”, “Sen Aydınlatırsın Geceyi”, “Celal Tan ve Ailesinin Aşırı Acıklı Hikayesi”, “Beş Şehir”, “Acı Aşk”, “Son of the Sun,” and “Police,” as well as the series “Sırat,” “Acemi Müezzin,” “Gurbet Kuşları,” “Müjgan Bey,” “Serçe Sarayı,” “Dudullu Postası,” and “Sevgili Geçmiş.” The film she produced, “Celal Tan ve Ailesinin Aşırı Acıklı Hikayesi”, won the Best Film Award at the Adana Film Festival (2011), while her film “Sen Aydınlatırsın” won the Best Film Award at the Istanbul Film Festival (2013). Alp, who also served as screenplay consultant for the projects “Azap Çavuşu,” “Bir Ayrılık Bir Ölüm,” “Diriliş,” “Nefes,” “Suçlu Taraf,” and “Tek Ölüm Yetmez,” also teaches screenwriting.
20 projects out of 172 applications will be presented to film professionals.
A total of 172 applications were submitted to the Forum. Twenty projects selected by a preliminary jury consisting of director Nazlı Elif Durlu, documentary filmmaker Esin Özalp Öztürk, academic Ayça Çiftçi, screenwriter-academic-director Özgür Şeyben, and screenwriter-director Handan İpekçi will be evaluated by industry professionals. Film Forum, Turkey's leading sectoral support platform, brings together directors, producers, and screenwriters with international film professionals while supporting Turkish cinema with a total of 1.1 million TL this year Additionally, Film Forum is increasing its support for Turkish cinema with a new section this year: The First Feature Film Development Platform, launched to introduce new names and works to our cinema, will evaluate four projects in its first year.
62nd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Forum Finalists
Feature Film Pitching Platform
“Benim Adım Beyaz ve Çobanların O Eşeği” – Director: Ro Çil, Producer: Bilal Bay “Huzursuzlar” – Director: Benhür Bolhava, Producer: İpek Erdem, Berfin Demirat “Köpekler İçin Gece Müziği” – Director: Ramin Matin, Producer: Selda Durna “Mevsimlerin Ardından” – Director: Mustafa Kara, Producer: Olena Yershova
Sümer Tilmaç Antalya Screenplay Support Fund Pitching Platform
“Azap Serası” – Director: İlcan Edgar Özuluça, Producer: Nadir Kağan Kocabey “Garagoyun” – Director: Hakkı Kurtuluş, Producer: Melik Saraçoğlu “Geçmişin Gölgesi” – Director: Savaş İlhan, Producer: Dilek İyigün “Şifacı” – Director: Ahmet Faruk Arslan, Producer: Halil Kardaş
First Feature Film Development Platform
“Bilenme” – Director: Burkay Doğan “Bir Baba ve Oğulun Ölümü” – Director: Zekeriya Aydoğan “İşgal”- Director: Seren Gel “İzaner’i Beklerken” – Director: Sidar İnan Erçelik
Work in Progress Fiction Film Platform
“Dans Eden Melekler” – Director: Ferit Kılıç, Producer : Diloy Gülün “Hakikatin Ölümü” – Director: Hüseyin Karabey, Producer: Cem Doruk “Perşembe Gecesi Çok Karanlık” – Director: Onur Sefer, Producer: Sinem Kanat, Merve Açarçiçek “Varlık” – Director: Muzaffer Mehmet Çağlar, Producer: Çağla Çağlar
Work in Progress Documentary Film Platform
“Kökleri Ararken” – Director: Can Adiloğlu, Producer: Mahir Kalaylıoğlu “Sucuk Olmak” – Director: Volkan Durmuş, Producer: Serpil Altın “Uzakta” – Director: Muhammet Tayfur Aydın, Producer: Şükrü Acar “Zor Zanaat” – Director: Levent Çetin, Producer: Deniz İnceoğlu