Ankara counting down to 22nd film festival
Films by such acclaimed directors as Werner Herzog, Xavier Dolan and Tony Gatlif will be shown out of competition, while award-winning titles and those that have run for prizes in major festivals both in Turkey and abroad are on the festival's national feature competition bill, as has been the tradition throughout the fest's history. The festival will be running from March 17-27 with screenings at the Batı and Kızılay Büyülü Fener theaters as well as the Çankaya Municipality Contemporary Arts Center and the Goethe-Institut Ankara.
This year's 10-piece national competition selection includes "Çoğunluk" (Majority), first-time director Seren Yüce's critically acclaimed, Altın Portakal-winning drama about discrimination; "Gölgeler ve Suretler" (Shadows and Faces), Turkish Cypriot filmmaker Derviş Zaim's most recent effort that takes a cinematic look at the inter-communal violence of 1963 on the Mediterranean island; and "Kavşak" (The Crossing), a psychological drama directed by Selim Demirdelen, another first-timer. Other debuts on the bill include "Kar Beyaz" (White as Snow), by Selim Güneş; "Press," by Sedat Yılmaz and "Kayıp Özgürlük" (Lost Freedom), by journalist-author Umur Hozatlı. "Siyah Beyaz" (Black and White), the debut directorial effort by Ankara Cinema Association president Ahmet Boyacıoğlu; "Kars Hikayeleri" (Tales from Kars), an omnibus of five short films shot in Kars by directors Özcan Alper, Ülkü Oktay, Emre Akay, Ahu Öztürk and Zehra Derya Koç; "Teslimiyet" (Other Angels), by Emre Yalgın; and "Ses" (The Voice), a horror film by Ümit Ünal, round out the competition bill.
The event will also offer special sections that focus on films from Kazakhstan and Italy, as well as a section that focuses on the human's relationship with nature, Kazinform refers to Today's Zaman.
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