The most exciting movies that have been recognized with awards at world festivals this year will be screened in Ayvalık, a charming Aegean town in Balıkesir province, at an open-air event on July 8-17. Organized by the Seyir Association with the contributions of the Ayvalık Municipality, the Open-Air Movie Nights will screen the films in the garden of the new building of the Ayvalık Municipality (which was formerly a tax office), overlooking the azure sea.

Within the scope of Ayvalık Open-Air Movie Nights, films that were screened at important festivals, notably Venice, Cannes, Sundance and Berlin, and made a splash at the Oscars and Golden Globes will be presented to cinephiles. The outdoor event will screen 11 movies over 10 days.

Among the productions being screened over the course of the Ayvalık Open-Air Movie Nights is director Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza," which was nominated for Oscar and Golden Globe awards in many categories and was selected among the Top 10 Films of 2021 by the American Film Institute. The film takes the audience to 1973 and is a coming-of-age story about two youngsters with their dreams and struggles of existence. Putting the concept of first love into the spotlight, "Licorice Pizza" reflects important political and social developments of the period, accompanied by wonderful music.

The son of the famous actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cooper Hoffman, and Alana Haim prove that they will be the next stars of Hollywood with their debut lead roles in the movie. Greeted by critics as the funniest and most personal film in Anderson's 30-year career, "Licorice Pizza" also features cameo appearances by Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper as larger-than-life figures during a summer of mischief that involves water beds, pinball machines, gasoline shortages and city politics.

"Vortex," which premiered in Cannes like Gaspar Noe's previous films and won the Golden Tulip at the Istanbul Film Festival this year, is among the standouts of the Ayvalık Open-Air Movie Nights. The intimate drama about getting old examines what it means to lose your memory, little by little. The movie, shot by Noe after he narrowly escaped a cerebral hemorrhage and contracted COVID-19, focuses on the last days of a loving elderly couple with dementia. The director uses the split-screen technique throughout the film, enabling us to watch two characters who are in different places at the same time. It shows how two people struggling with the ageing process and illness can become out of sync.

The director duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known as the Daniels, who have a huge fan base following their award-winning movie "Swiss Army Man," expertly blend the science fiction, comedy and adventure genres in their latest movie "Everything Everywhere All At Once." The production invites viewers on a journey within the infinite possibilities of the multiverse just like its title suggests. The movie tells how Evelyn, who seems to have an ordinary life, at one point surrenders to the multiverse chaos, takes on a lot of characters and turns into a kind of superhero. Michelle Yeoh is found fascinating by critics in the lead role of the production.

"Alcarras," which won the Golden Bear for the Best Film award at the Berlin Film Festival this year, bears the signature of Carla Simon. After her movie "Summer 1993," which attracted great attention, Simon once again tells a story through the eyes of children. Describing the Catalan side of the land struggle of farmers in different corners of the world, the director shot the movie in his own village, Alcarras, and the farmers of this village also took part in the movie.

"Alcarras" follows the story of the Sole clan, a large, tight-knit family who spend their summers picking peaches in their orchard in a small village. But when they are threatened with eviction due to new plans for the land, which include cutting down the peach trees and installing solar panels, the family members start to drift apart. Variety called it a "lovely, bittersweet agricultural drama," praising Simon's "warm affinity for this alternately parched and verdant landscape."

"Flee" directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, which was nominated for the Best International Film, Best Documentary and Best Animation at the Oscars this year, received many awards, including the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. Blending hand-drawn animated sequences with real archive footage, the film tells the story of successful 36-year-old academic Amin Nawabi, who came to Europe as a refugee in his childhood.

Written and directed by Eskil Vogt, who won the Golden Tulip at the Istanbul Film Festival in 2014 with his "Blind" and wrote the scripts of many films like "The Worst Person in the World," saluted cinephiles his second movie "The Innocents." Making its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, the movie promises a journey into the terrifying secret worlds of children. The production takes place in the bright summer of the north and follows the story of four children playing games when the adults are not looking or seeing. Their dark, supernatural powers appear and cause mysterious and frightening events.

"The Lost Daughter" is the directorial debut of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and is an adaptation of Elena Ferrante's novel of the same name. In the production, Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley and Dakota Johnson dazzle with impressive performances. The plot centers on Leda Caruso, who decides to take a holiday by herself and rents an apartment on the Greek island of Spetses. Occasionally flirting with Will, a good-looking student from Ireland working at the beach bar, and Lyle, the janitor, the 48-year-old scholar has brought her work to keep her company. But signs abound that the idyllic atmosphere is only an illusion, as the camera zooms in on the fruit arranged in a bowl in Leda’s apartment which has begun to rot at the bottom.

Soon a vulgar and somehow threatening Greek American family arrives, taking over the quiet beach Leda likes to visit. She begins to observe Nina, an attractive woman played by Dakota Johnson who seems to remind Leda of herself when she struggles with her demanding small daughter. The film jumps back and forth between Leda’s current life and a younger self, played by Jessie Buckley, slowly revealing what happened between Leda and her daughters.

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in "Joker," and child actor Woody Norman, "C'mon C'mon" is a touching, heart-warming road movie. Directed by Mike Mills, the film builds its story on the special bond between Johnny and his nephew on their journey.

Pedro Almodovar's "Parallel Mothers," which made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and brought Penelope Cruz the Best Actress Award in Venice, focuses on two women waiting to give birth in the same hospital room. This coincidence gives another direction to the unexpectedly changing and complex lives of the two women, making it impossible for them to break away from each other.

South Korean filmmaker Kogonada's "After Yang," which won the Un Certain Regard Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the Alfred P. Sloan Award at the Sundance Film Festival, takes place in a future where artificial intelligence has penetrated into our lives. Colin Farrel plays the role of the father, and Jodie Turner-Smith plays the mother, who tries to fix their daughter's android friend, Yang, when it breaks down.

The films will be screened at 9:30 p.m. every night. On July 15, when two films will be presented, the screenings will start at 9 p.m.

The Ayvalık Open-Air Movie Nights will also screen "Pil's Adventures" for children. Directed by Julien Fournet, the film tells the crazy adventure of Pil, a little orphan living on the street, to save the prince Roland, who has been turned into half-cat, half-chicken as a result of a spell. The animated movie will be screened with Turkish dubbing and will start at 9 p.m., earlier than the other movies

Tickets are on sale on www.biletix.com for TL 50. The Open-Air Movie Nights will meet audiences in Urladam on July 22-31 after Ayvalık.