A Turkish film festival showcasing everything from comedies to documentaries opened on Friday evening in Cape Town, South Africa. South African moviegoers were invited to the 4th Turkish Film Festival, taking place at Cape Town iconic Victoria and Alfred Waterfront venue.Sharing different aspects of Turkey, Ambassador Kaan Esener said the annual festival "is interesting as it takes Turkish movie culture to South Africa."The festival began connecting the two countries through cinema in 2012.Kenan İnce, general manager for Turkish Airlines in Cape Town, told Anadolu Agency: "South Africans and Turks do not know each other very well. We are hoping that by sharing our culture, within three years we can increase the visitors to Turkey from 48,000 last year to 70,000."Among this year's offerings is the 2012 comedy/drama, Kurtuluş Son Durak, which brought laughs and heart-rending moments to the festival's opening night.South African attendee Riyad Groenewald said: "It showed me a world different from my own, but even though there are differences, there are also many similarities between Turkey and here."Those who came to celebrate the launch stood a chance to win return tickets to visit Turkey, courtesy of Turkish Airlines.İnce said, "Each year Turkish Airlines sponsors a ticket as a warm gesture to further open the doors between our countries." It was not just locals that showed up, but Turkish expats also came to watch films from back home. Ali Turanlı said, "My family told me of the event. I came out of curiosity but it is really a great way of sharing our culture with South Africa." The festival closes on June 12 in Johannesburg, ending with the 2015 historical drama, Last Letter.