The 11th International Antakya Film Festival, held this year in Hatay, which has seen extensive damage from the earthquakes in February, concluded with an awards ceremony on October 19th.
Due to a three-day mourning period declared for the Gaza Strip due to Israeli attacks, the awards ceremony took place at the NATO tent city's dining hall. The film "Ariel: Back to Buenos Aires," directed by Alison Murray, received the award for "Best Feature Film."
During his speech at the awards ceremony, Festival President Mehmet Oflazoğlu highlighted the festival's slogan, "Antakya Varsa Ben de Varım" (If Antakya Exists, So Do I), and stated, "We believe that we will get through these difficult times with solidarity and cooperation."
Oflazoğlu continued, "They questioned if a film festival could happen amidst the rubble. Yes, especially in times when we need more art. Art is what will save us from this wreckage. It's crucial to be able to express our sorrows, find a common ground with the sorrows of others, and give voice to them. The feeling of being in partnership with someone is very important. Watching a film, sharing a theater play, crying together, laughing together, and sometimes depicting the picture of pain is a healing process. By standing side by side, coming together, talking about our sorrows, sharing them, we will heal together to prevent new sorrows. Art heals."
The festival's jury members included:
Feature Films
- Jury President: Murat Şeker
- Didem Balçın
- Ceylan Özgü Özçelik
- Kida Khodr Ramadan
- Terry Chor
- Laura Lehmus
- Valerie Bert
- Kamran Rasoolzadeh
Short Films
- Ali Tanrıverdi
- Tim Seyfi
- Lila Gürmen
- Eldiar Madakim
- Fesih Alpagu
Documentary Films
- Hayriye Savaşçıoğlu
- Atsuko Suetomi
- Kadir Kaymakçı
- Adzhibaev Ibadylla
- Farhan Umedaly
Feature Film Awards
- Best Film: "Ariel: Back to Buenos Aires"
- Best Director: "Push Puase," Ryoma Kosasa
- Best Screenplay: "Ariel: Back to Buenos Aires," Alison Murray
- Best Cinematographer: "Ariel: Back to Buenos Aires," Rodrigo Pulpeiro
- Best Music: "Dito," Takashi Yuki
- Best Actress: Nairu Yamamoto, "Push Puase"
- Best Actor: Taner Cindoruk, "Aga"
- Best Editing: "Push Puase," Ryoma Kosasa
- Best Art Director: "A Three Storey Comedy," Sandra Mitrovic
- Jury Special Award: "Push Puase"
- Audience Award: "Eflâtun," Cüneyt Karakuş
- Yeşilçam Special Award: "Tebessüm," Sezgin Cengiz- Şiyar Gedik
Documentary Film Awards
- Best Film: "Under The Sky of Damascus," Heba Khaled, Talal Derki, Ali Wajeeh (Denmark)
- Jury Special Award: "Kaf Kaf," Metin Dağ (Turkey)
- Jury Special Award: "Karanlıkta Kaybolanlar," Can Diker (Turkey)
- Encouragement Award: "En Güzel Yabancı," Yakup Uygun, Ersin Karahaliloğlu (Turkey)
Short Documentary Film Awards
- Best Film: "Astor Place, The American Dream," Giuseppe Malpasso (United States)
- Jury Special Award: "Yerin Ruhu," Burcu Dabak Özdemir (Turkey)
Short Fiction Film Awards
- Best Film: "Ida," Irina Voronova (Russia)
- Jury Special Award: "Curl," Helen Silvander (Sweden)
- Jury Special Award: "İstanbul İstanbul," Demir Özcan (Turkey)
Student Short Fiction Film Awards
- Best Film: "Solidified Stairs," Xiao Liu (China)
- Jury Special Award: "Oblivion," Dmitry Alekseev (Russia)
Animation Short Film Awards
- Best Film: "The Last Tree," Zülfü Gül (Turkey)
- Jury Special Award: "Masha and the Bear. Think outside the box," Vladislav Bayramgulov (Russia)
Experimental Short Film Awards
- Best Film: "I Was There," Chi Jang Yin (United States)
- Jury Special Award: "Gaia," Olga Sokolova (Russia)
(VC/VK)
