Turkish Titles at Antalya Act as Prism for Flourishing Local Production
Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentPolitics and film festivals tend to intersect as the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival emphatically attests.In the lead up to Turkish municipal elections held in March of 2019 the current Mayor of Antalya, Muhittin Böcek, promised voters that, if he won, he would change back the format of the storied film festival held in the resort city on the country’s Southern coast. At that time within Turkey’s film community the fate of the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, which started in 1964, had become “not (just) the talk of the town; but the talk of the country,” says Turkish film industry veteran Ahmet Boyacıoğlu, who now heads the event in tandem with its artistic director Basak Emre.