NEW FILMS IN TURKISH CINEMA, DETERMINED AT FILM FORUM

The co-production and project development platform Film Forum concluded with an awards ceremony held at Hotel Su. The films of the future received their first support to begin their journey.

The 62nd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival's co-production and project development platform, Film Forum, concluded tonight with an awards ceremony at Hotel Su, following a packed two-day marathon.

Following the evaluation by the Work In Progress Jury, consisting of Gabor Kriegler, Michaela Sabo, and Gökçe Işıl Tuna, and the Pitching Jury, consisting of Onur Ünlü, Çiğdem Vitrinel, and Funda Alp, the projects receiving support from Film Forum this year were determined as follows:

Feature-Length Fiction Film Pitching Platform: Köpekler İçin Gece Müziği Director: Ramin Matin, Producer. Selda Durna

Sümer Tilmaç Antalya Screenplay Support Fund Pitching Platform: Garagoyun Director: Hakkı Kurtuluş, Producer: Melik Saraçoğlu

First Feature Film Development Platform: Bilenme – Director: Burkay Doğan

Work in Progress Fiction Film Platform: Perşembe Gecesi Çok Karanlık Director: Onur Sefer, Producer: Sinem Kanat, Merve Açarçiçek

Work in Progress Fiction Film Platform- DCT Turkey Contribution Award: Perşembe Gecesi Çok Karanlık – Director: Onur Sefer, Producer: Sinem Kanat, Merve Açarçiçek

Work in Progress Documentary Film Platform: Sucuk Olmak Director: Volkan Durmuş, Producer: Serpil Altın

Work in Progress Documentary Film Platform- DCT Turkey Contribution Award: Sucuk Olmak Director: Volkan Durmuş, Producer: Serpil Altın

PANELS BY INDUSTRY EXPERTS AT FILM FORUM

Film Forum once again brought together industry experts to discuss the year's most pressing topics. Today's sessions at Hotel Su covered preparing applications and project files, as well as digital platforms via Gain Media.

Vertical series will be available on Gain Shorts starting in November.

The participants in the session titled “90 Seconds of Emotion,” moderated by Gain Communications Director Firuze Abdulazizoğlu, were Gain Productions and Dramas Director Murat Çiçek and dramaturg Esel Oral. Murat Çiçek announced that they will launch the ‘vertical series’ format, which has examples in Korea and China but has not yet been tried in Turkey, on the platform called “Gain Shorts” in November. He said their goal is to create ‘quickly consumed, melodramatic’ content. Dramaturg Esel Oral, positioning this format as a “new generation viewing experience,” said, “It's very difficult to convey the essence of the story in 1.5 minutes, and we are working on that.” Oral noted that in vertical series, they aim for short dialogue and single locations. She listed the evaluation criteria for scripts submitted to the selection committee as follows: “Can the story be summarised in one sentence? Do the episode endings spark curiosity?”

How are projects determined in Gain?

At the Film Forum session titled “Broadcasting Processes on Digital Platforms,” Firuze Abdulazizoğlu's guest was Şehnaz Uğur, Gain Media Content Strategy and Licensing Manager. Uğur explained how the broadcasting processes work, specifically at Gain, as follows:

We actually prioritise the programming of our own original productions. We try to build the rest of the content around that. To go into detail, projects that come in 1.5 or even 2 years in advance are evaluated by our drama team. The main content for that year is determined, and its production processes begin. We also have an evaluation process based on genre. What genre would be most suitable for the content to be added to the platform during that period? We research this first. However, if we only feed based on that content, it could lead to uniformity. Therefore, we try to do this without losing a wider audience. For example, if we are broadcasting content for women, we try to select content that doesn't alienate male viewers. Then comes the casting. Uğur also provided the following information about the operational process:

First, we participate in trade fairs worldwide in this field. We follow presentations of new content and trends. We conduct preliminary research and determine our content. Then, unfortunately, the ‘business’ process begins,

how much we buy, how much we sell, let's give this too, let's give this at half price, and so on. This is actually an industry segment that should not be overlooked. There is also an economic and legal dimension to the business. Ultimately, after we plan for a year and determine our 10 projects with the drama teams, feasibility studies are conducted to determine how the remaining projects can be evaluated.

The starting point for everything: the application file

The first hurdle everyone who wants to make a movie faces when trying to turn their dreams into reality, and for many, a nightmare, is the application file!

Producer Nefes Polat spoke at Film Forum about preparing an application file, drawing on her experience and using visual examples. Defining the project file in its most basic terms as “Everything you put in a project file should carry the visual identity that you will use to promote the film when it is completed, in the form of a trailer or poster,” Polat said, “The project file is a communication tool. You send it to the producer, the financier, the sponsor, the actors.”

Polat said the following about application files: "A project file goes to a person or an institution. An application file, on the other hand, is prepared according to the institution's requirements. Where are you applying? To platforms, markets, funds, residency programs, workshops, or grants. Where am I applying? What are this institution's goals? Why are they doing this? What do they want? For example, some workshops accept only women or platforms that accept only films set in the mountains. You need to read the institution's regulations. Who is on the selection committee? What are they interested in? Where do they come from? What are their areas of expertise? Which projects were selected last year? Who are the sponsors?"