Entries (RSS)
Antalya Goes A-List: The 45th Golden Orange and 4th International Eurasia Film Festivals (10 – 19 October 2008)
Sun, sea, stars – terms usually attributed to Cannes but equally valid when talking about Antalya. Located on the glistening Mediterranean, Turkey’s historic coastal town is fast becoming the festival calendar’s most exciting and glamorous occasion. Already one of the longest-running film festivals in Europe – the Golden Orange awards is a major event in the country, equivalent to the Oscars – it’s a place that knows how to put on a good time and the relatively young international portion of the festival has already attracted big-name Hollywood stars. In only its fourth year, Eurasia’s red carpet saw the likes of Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Matthew Modine and Adrien Brody out to lend their support and even Kevin Spacey made a surprise visit halfway through the event.
Why the sudden interest from such A-listers? No doubt the sun-kissed setting helped. From the unspoiled Old Town to the endless stretch of beach lined with modern resort hotels, Antalya’s the perfect getaway for the globe-trotting actor. But more importantly it’s a place that just loves film. Even at 11am, all screenings were sold-out at the town’s remote Cinebonus multiplex. For the unassuming press pass holder it was a case of adopting the strategy ‘the early bird gets the worm’ to catch a glimpse of what fans were queuing to see. It was quickly evident what the attraction was; Turkish cinema has some of the most varied and intriguing filmmakers in the world, and they had made films that easily held their own against the more star-studded Eurasia program.
With nearly 20 feature films competing in the Golden Orange awards there was a huge amount of variety on offer. Some, like Çağan Irmak’s ancient fable ULAK (THE MESSENGER), had already topped the Turkish box office earlier in the year while others were building on the success of other festivals such as Istanbul in April. Leading the buzz was NOKTA (DOT), a film that could be considered gimmicky with its use of a single shot to represent Turkey’s calligraphy heritage but one that perfectly demonstrates just how innovative the country’s cinema is becoming. With Turkey being so expansive audiences are always treated to some stunning locations and Dot follows the tradition by making great use of Konya Salt Lake, a blank canvas over which the camera rises and falls to focus on particular characters and timelines.
For director Derviş Zaim, DOT is the second film in what he calls “a chain of films which represent the authentic culture of this geography - using historical motifs to create a base for cinematic language.” His maverick approach - many were stunned it took only 12 days to film – made DOT a crossover hit, winning awards in both the Eurasia and Golden Orange competitions, including Best Director. “I didn’t want it to be an experimental film because I wanted it to be enjoyed by audiences,” said Zaim on DOT’s appeal, “It discusses philosophical issues but I wanted to make such kind of discussions like sugar in tea – you shouldn’t see them, you should feel them. That’s…
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.