Tibetan film wins grand prize at Boğaziçi film festival

An experimental documentary set in Tibet, 'Butter Lamp' has won Istanbul's second International Bosporus Film Festival. The 15-minute short film set in Tibet won the TL 50,000 ($22,600) prize on Friday night.

Speaking at the award ceremony in Istanbul's CRR Concert Hall, festival executive Ogün Şanlıer said that as a young festival, they brought together two generations of filmmakers: those had worked for the 100th anniversary of the Turkish cinema and the new generation that will ferry Turkish filmmaking into to the next century.

Turkey's film industry celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and more than 3,500 applications from 102 countries were received for the festival's national and international competitions. Şanlıer also praised major media institutions in Turkey including Anadolu Agency for their contribution to the country's cinema. Anadolu Agency is one of the main sponsors of the festival, which is organized by the Boğaziçi Cinema Association and the Istanbul Media Academy.

The winners of the festival were:

Ahmet Ulucay Grand Prize: "Butter Lamp" by Hu Wei
Best Fictional Short Film: "Adem Başaran" by Orhan İnce
Best National Short Documentary: "Cibik" by Turgay Kural
Boğaziçi Cinema Association Production Grand: "En Uzun Yol" by Enes Ateş
Best International Fictional Short Film: "The Chicken" by Una Gunjak
Best International Short Documentary: "I Exist" by Ahmed Abdelnaser
Best Cinematographer: "Cathedrals" by Eva Katherina Buhler
Best Screenplay: "The Chicken" by Una Gunjak
Best Editing: "I Exist" by Ahmed Abdelnaser
Best Actor: Fatih Sonmez for his role in "Öğretmen"
Best Actress: Nino Shengelaia for her role in "Invisible Spaces"
Best Child Actor: Iman Alibalic for his role in "The Chicken"
Special Jury Prize: Lendita Zeqiraj in "Balcony" and Cristian Cartier in "Our Weapon is Our Tongue"
Audience prize: "Irme" by Mert Gökalp
Istanbul Municipality Special Award: "Çıraksız Ustalar" by Sinan Arıkan

About the festival

Opened on November 14, the Second International Bosporus Festival hosted many local and international cinema figures at free events. Within the scope of the 600th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the Ottomans and Poland, several film screenings and events took place under the title "Honored Guest: Poland."

Regional productions were brought together under the theme of "The Colors of Asia" and the prominent examples of these films were screened as "Box Office Films." A section of the festival titled "A Portrait: Derviş Zaim" was devoted to the famous Turkish director and all of his films. The video performance "100-5=CAHİDE" starring Farah Zeynep Abdullah, which was made in honor of Turkish cinema icon Cahide Sonku, aroused great interest among participants.

The jury of the Second International Bosporus Film Festival brought renowned figures of cinema together. The grand jury of the festival featured Lorenzo Soria - vice president of Golden Globe - Belçim Bilgin, Sam French - the director of the Academy Award nominated short film "Buzkashi Boy" - acclaimed producer and director Yasmine Golchan and Ivana Chubbuck, who has coached many Academy Award winning and nominated actors. Additionally, Omar Metwally, Kristina Krepela, Amy Fox, Mick Casale, Carol Dysinger, Prakash Sharma, Tarık Tufan, Bora Gökşingöl, Cihan Aktaş, İlksen Başarır, Hamit Aydın, Ferhat Aslan, Coşkun Çokyiğit, Abdurrahman Öner and Semir Arslanyürek were also among the jury of the festival.

Atasay - a leading company in the jewellery industry in Turkey - designed this year's awards, which were inspired by the festival's symbol, the dolphin. The jury members were presented original handmade Turkish ceramics, one of the symbols of Turkey. The handmade gifts were exclusively designed by İsmail Yiğit, who has made a name for himself internationally through his craftsmanship.

The second International Bosporus Film Festival proved that it is capable of being one of the most prestigious film festivals for short films. Organized by the International Bosporus Cinema Association and the Istanbul Media Academy, the festival received 3,682 applications from 102 countries around the world for its national and international short film sections. In order to support 100 short filmmakers, the International Bosporus Cinema Association Production Support Fund Competition was organized and 20 filmmakers were supported to compete at this year's festival. The other 80 short films will be supported during next year's festival.

Ogün Şanlıer, the chairman of the festival's executive council, said that as a young festival, they are bringing a new generation together to mark the 100th anniversary of Turkish cinema.

Chubbuck, who has coached stars such as Brad Pitt, Halle Berry, Eva Mendes, Kate Bosworth, Jim Carrey, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Amy Smart and Beyoncé, organized a two-day master class for the professional actors, including Belçim Bilgin, Cansu Tosun, Omar Metwally, Aynur Aydın and Şükrü Özyıldız.

Although many film festivals focusing on both short and feature-length films are organized each year in Istanbul, the International Bosporus Film Festival stands out among them as it is "more focused on the East," Şanlıer said during an interview. The festival, as Şanlıer stated, features American and European films; however, it mainly concentrates on the production of Balkan, Middle Eastern, Latin American, African and Chinese films. In other words, "films that belong to the overlooked geographies." He claimed the films of these countries as well as Turkish films are not the first choices of cinemagoers due to the boxoffice productions that dominate theaters. "We want to raise awareness through this festival," he explained, adding movie buffs who understand and perceive this awareness show interest in the festival.