Festival invites stars, prisoners and the blind
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Aslı Sağlam
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 13, 2009 00:00
ADANA - The Adana Golden Boll Film Festival continued with Honorary Awards ceremony Thursday night that recognized four notable names in Turkish cinema, director Ömer Lütfi Akad, actress Filiz Akın, actor Yusuf Sezgin and composer Cahit Berkay for their great contributions to film sector.
Of the many events at the Golden Boll Film Festival in Adana, one was the star attraction Thursday evening, drawing hundreds of attendees. Four important names in the Turkish cinema sector received honorary awards on an unforgettable and somewhat melancholy night. These traditional awards rarely surprise, but are always well deserved. This year, they were presented to one of the best-ever directors of Turkish cinema, Ömer Lütfi Akad, along with actress Filiz Akın, actor Yusuf Sezgin and famous composer Cahit Berkay.
At the award ceremony, short presentations were screened on the honorees’ lives and careers. Three of the recipients appeared in person, all except for Akad, 93, who was not able to participate due to illness but sent a video message. He was loudly applauded and the video of the ovation will be sent to Akad so he can see how much his work is appreciated.
Adana Gov. İlhan Atış thanked all the participating artists, saying that Adana "witnessed a flood of celebrities to the city and we are so happy about it." Before calling Akın, one of the most attractive actresses in Turkish cinema, onstage to receive her prize, Atış said Turkey needs more female role models."Filiz Akın is an example for all Anatolian women," he said. "I am proud to present her award tonight."
Akın had been nominated for the Golden Boll award many times, but had never won before. "I now understand how exciting it is to win the award, as I now have a Golden Boll as well," she said. Composer Berkay, his eyes filled with tears, said he was touched to receive the award. Sezgin, who has devoted his 46 years of life to cinema, said he was proud to be standing on the stage and receiving the award.
The crowded ceremony held at Zirve restaurant in Zaimoğlu Park continued with a concert by the legendary Turkish band Yeni Türkü.
The one-week festival was full of events that included local residents in different activities. One activity involved primary-school children who live in the slum areas of Adana and were taught how to shoot short films as part of a project aiming to boost their interest in cinema.
A five-person group from Selçuk University’s communication department, led by Associate Professor Aytekin Can, gave lessons to the children to teach them how to shoot a movie. The 23 young participants in the project, called "Children Tell About Children," became screenwriters, camera operators, set officers, actors and montage technicians. They began shooting after a brainstorming session to come up with the treatment for the film.
Films accessible to everyone
The Adana event also saw the kick-off of a project that was a first for a Turkish festival, holding special film screenings for citizens with disabilities and prisoners. The film "Beyaz Melek" (White Angel) was used for an experimental technique that narrates what is happening in a movie for blind people.
According to Engin Yılmaz, the director of Boğaziçi University’s Visually Handicapped Technology Laboratory, or GETEM, the environment can be designed to remove the obstacles. The project, which was first held at the Orthopedic Hospital, kicked off in 2006. "With this technique, the scenes are described by a third person, a technique used on some recently produced DVDs," Yılmaz said.
The 16th Golden Boll Film Festival also succeeded in involving nearly 100,000 students through the "Schools are in Cinema Ğ Cinema is in Schools" program, which included 170 schools this year. A special selection of the festival’s films were screened at schools with the necessary facilities, while students from other schools were transported to the cinema venues on Adana Metropolitan Municipality buses.
A Short Film Workshop is also being conducted for primary school students in collaboration with the cinema and television department of Selçuk University’s Communications Faculty. The students learn filmmaking, from script writing to production processes.
For World Day Against Child Labor on Friday, a special event was held that brought 600 child workers to the film-screening venues as guests of the festival. Special screenings have been held every day for prisoners as well.
The festival ends Sunday, making this weekend viewers’ last chance to see films, as well as the art exhibitions included in the festival program: "Faces From Cinema in the Golden Boll," put on by the Adana Amateur Photographers’ Association, or AFAD, is on display at the M1 Tepe Shopping Center, while "Historical Photographs of Adana," selected from the archives of Mehmet Baltacı and Dr. S. Haluk Uygur, and the "2009 Golden Boll Honorary Awards, Yeşilçam Posters" exhibition are taking place at the Adana Culture and Art Center until Sunday afternoon.
At the award ceremony, short presentations were screened on the honorees’ lives and careers. Three of the recipients appeared in person, all except for Akad, 93, who was not able to participate due to illness but sent a video message. He was loudly applauded and the video of the ovation will be sent to Akad so he can see how much his work is appreciated.
Adana Gov. İlhan Atış thanked all the participating artists, saying that Adana "witnessed a flood of celebrities to the city and we are so happy about it." Before calling Akın, one of the most attractive actresses in Turkish cinema, onstage to receive her prize, Atış said Turkey needs more female role models."Filiz Akın is an example for all Anatolian women," he said. "I am proud to present her award tonight."
Akın had been nominated for the Golden Boll award many times, but had never won before. "I now understand how exciting it is to win the award, as I now have a Golden Boll as well," she said. Composer Berkay, his eyes filled with tears, said he was touched to receive the award. Sezgin, who has devoted his 46 years of life to cinema, said he was proud to be standing on the stage and receiving the award.
The crowded ceremony held at Zirve restaurant in Zaimoğlu Park continued with a concert by the legendary Turkish band Yeni Türkü.
The one-week festival was full of events that included local residents in different activities. One activity involved primary-school children who live in the slum areas of Adana and were taught how to shoot short films as part of a project aiming to boost their interest in cinema.
A five-person group from Selçuk University’s communication department, led by Associate Professor Aytekin Can, gave lessons to the children to teach them how to shoot a movie. The 23 young participants in the project, called "Children Tell About Children," became screenwriters, camera operators, set officers, actors and montage technicians. They began shooting after a brainstorming session to come up with the treatment for the film.
Films accessible to everyone
The Adana event also saw the kick-off of a project that was a first for a Turkish festival, holding special film screenings for citizens with disabilities and prisoners. The film "Beyaz Melek" (White Angel) was used for an experimental technique that narrates what is happening in a movie for blind people.
According to Engin Yılmaz, the director of Boğaziçi University’s Visually Handicapped Technology Laboratory, or GETEM, the environment can be designed to remove the obstacles. The project, which was first held at the Orthopedic Hospital, kicked off in 2006. "With this technique, the scenes are described by a third person, a technique used on some recently produced DVDs," Yılmaz said.
The 16th Golden Boll Film Festival also succeeded in involving nearly 100,000 students through the "Schools are in Cinema Ğ Cinema is in Schools" program, which included 170 schools this year. A special selection of the festival’s films were screened at schools with the necessary facilities, while students from other schools were transported to the cinema venues on Adana Metropolitan Municipality buses.
A Short Film Workshop is also being conducted for primary school students in collaboration with the cinema and television department of Selçuk University’s Communications Faculty. The students learn filmmaking, from script writing to production processes.
For World Day Against Child Labor on Friday, a special event was held that brought 600 child workers to the film-screening venues as guests of the festival. Special screenings have been held every day for prisoners as well.
The festival ends Sunday, making this weekend viewers’ last chance to see films, as well as the art exhibitions included in the festival program: "Faces From Cinema in the Golden Boll," put on by the Adana Amateur Photographers’ Association, or AFAD, is on display at the M1 Tepe Shopping Center, while "Historical Photographs of Adana," selected from the archives of Mehmet Baltacı and Dr. S. Haluk Uygur, and the "2009 Golden Boll Honorary Awards, Yeşilçam Posters" exhibition are taking place at the Adana Culture and Art Center until Sunday afternoon.