FROM THE GOLDEN ORANGE TO OCTOBER 29 SPECIAL GALAS

Altın Portakal celebrated October 29 Republic Day with two very special galas: the documentaries “Cumhuriyete Giden Yol” and “Ferhangi Bir Yaşam”

The 62nd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival presented its audience with two very special galas during Republic Day celebrations. “Cumhuriyet Giden Yol”, which traces the footsteps of the Republic's founding from Samsun to Izmir, was screened at the AKM Perge Hall. In contrast, “Ferhangi Bir Yaşam”, which focuses on Ferhan Şensoy, one of the most accomplished artists of the Republican era, was screened at the AKM Aspendos Hall.

“This society needs unity, not division.”

Answering questions after the screening, Hacı Mehmet Duranoğlu, director of the documentary "Cumhuriyete Giden Yol", said that the work was prepared by a group of faculty members from Kocaeli University for the Republic's 100th anniversary.

When asked how he accessed the very special archive videos used in the documentary, Duranoğlu said, "I know ninety per cent of the footage owned by the Republic of Turkey. This is my area of special interest. In fact, it was another friend of ours who discovered this, but I'll mention it too: the oldest footage of Atatürk was filmed in France in 1910. He went to France for the Picardy Manoeuvres when he was only 29. In those images, you see the young Mustafa Kemal among the French generals. I am aware of everything up to that point." Duranoğlu stated that the documentary has been uploaded to the Kocaeli University website for everyone to access and announced that they will soon begin filming a new documentary on Atatürk's relationship with books.

“We'll be going on tour with our documentary, just like Ferhan Şensoy.”

The other very special gala of the day at Altın Portakal was “Ferhangi Bir Yaşam” at the AKM Aspendos Hall. The documentary, which brought the renowned theatre artist and writer Ferhan Şensoy to the silver screen with his lesser-known aspects, was followed by a screening at the AKM Aspendos Hall. Following the screening of the documentary, which brought the unknown elements of master theatre artist and writer Ferhan Şensoy to the big screen, director Selçuk Metin and Şensoy's family members, Derya Şensoy, Ferhan Şensoy, and Elif Durdu Şensoy, answered questions from the audience.

Derya Şensoy, who spoke first in the interview, said, “My father had a very rich archive, which we discovered during this process, and we are very happy that we have at least preserved part of it for posterity as a document that will allow him to connect with the younger generation.” Elif Durdu Şensoy expressed her feelings, saying, “Watching this documentary can be emotionally challenging for us.”

Director Selçuk Metin stated that they planned the documentary's screening program as a tour program, similar to Ferhan Şensoy's process of establishing Ses Tiyatrosu: "Just as Ferhan Şensoy did an Anatolian tour while establishing Ses Tiyatrosu, we also plan to do an Anatolian tour first. We want to go to every place we can, including Bursa, Eskişehir, and İzmir. In addition, we plan to hold many screenings at Ses Tiyatrosu. We want to have at least one screening every month because watching it is truly a unique experience. We have held two screenings so far, and I was particularly impressed when people in the audience looked up at the ceiling while the construction process of Ses Tiyatrosu was being described."