Iranian film ‘Malaria’ big winner at Turkey’s Bosphorus Film Festival
Compiled from Dispatches
The Fifth International Bosphorus Film Festival ended on November 27 with Iranian director Parviz Shahbazi’s ‘Malaria’ sweeping up the awards for Best Script, Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Actress at the closing ceremony.
Festival director Ogün Şanlõer said they had received over 3,400 entries from 102 countries for the festival of which 150 ¿lms from 36 countries were screened.
At the closing ceremony, The Lifetime Achievement of the festival was presented to Hungarian director Bela Tarr. The ceremony was held at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall.
“When you go to a venue to make a ¿lm at four in the morning, everything is quiet, everybody is cold but you never think of it. You only think that you have to tell something to people. You tell them how you see the world and of course you have to be strong. You also have to be yourself. That is what I have done for the last 40 years,” Tarr said in her acceptance speech.
Majid Majidi’s ‘Behind the Clouds’ won the Best Fiction award while the Best Actor award went to Ishaan Khattar.
Saghar Ghanaat won the Best Actress award for her rôle in ‘Malaria’.
In the national category of the festival, Andaç Haznedaroğlu’s ‘Misa¿r’ (The Guest) won the Best National Feature Film and Best Fiction awards.
Best International Short Fiction Film Award went to ‘Retouch’ by Kaveh Mazaheri.
Ahmet Ulucay Short Film Grand Prix was also given to ‘Les Miserables’ by Ladj Ly.
The Fifth International Bosphorus Film Festival, which took place from November 17 to 26, brought award-winning movie directors and their highly-anticipated work to Istanbul this year. Majidi, one of the most regarded directors of Iranian cinema, revealed his latest ¿lm, ‘Beyond the Clouds’ for viewers while Egyptian ¿lm director Amr Salam presented ‘Sheikh Jackson’. Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman and Indian movie producer Vibha Chopra were also a part of the festival program.
This year’s program included talks with directors and producers such as Béla Tarr and Boby Roth, as well as competitions in the categories of Best National Feature Film, International Feature Film, and Short Film in which directors, producers, and actors received grand prizes of up to 100,000 Turkish lira.