Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival 2020 Winners - GHOSTS and QUO VADIS, AIDA? Win Best Films

Quo Vadis, Aida?, directed by Jasmila Žbanić

The 57th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in Antalya, Turkey awarded the Golden Orange’s Best Film in the National Competition to Ghosts (Hayaletler), directed by Azra Deniz Okyay and Best Film in the International Competition to Quo Vadis, Aida?, directed by Jasmila Žbanić.

Unable to be at the Festival due to the pandemic, Jasmila Žbanić sent a video message in which she said: ‘This film came about through the collaboration of nine different countries. I emphasize this because I think now more than ever we need to show that we’re trying to understand each other better by telling our different stories together. This award will help the film to be watched by more people, as well as bringing us together through our love of cinema and for each other.’

The jury gave the Best Director Award to Iranian director, Massoud Bakhshi, for his film, Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness.

In a message, which he began by thanking the Festival team, Massoud Bakhshi said: ‘I am really happy and proud to have won Best Director at the Antalya International Film Festival. I hope that my film gives everyone who watches it a better understanding of the true meaning of forgiveness.’

Azra Deniz Okyay’s film Ghosts (Hayaletler) won five awards, including Best Film; along with Best Director for Azra Deniz Okyay, Best Editing for Ayris Alptekin and Best Supporting Actor for Emrah Özdemir. The Best Supporting Actress Award was shared by Nalan Kuruçim for her performance in Ghosts and Nezaket Erden for her role in Two Types of People (İnsanlar İkiye Ayrılır).

Elsewhere, the Dr. Avni Tolunay Special Jury Prize was awarded to Fractured (Çatlak), a film directed by Fikret Reyhan, and the Behlül Dal Best First Film Award to Ferit Karol’s Penny Bank (Kumbara).

In the Shadows (Gölgeler İçinde), directed by Erdem Tepegöz, won five awards, including Best Cinematography for Hayk Kirakosyan, Best Music for Greg Dombrowski and Best Art Director for Armen Ghazaryan. The Film-Yön Best Director Award, also went to Erdem Tepegöz’s In the Shadows, as did the Turkish Film Critics’ Association (SİYAD) Award,

The Best Documentary Film was awarded to Deniz Tortum’s Phases of Matter (Maddenin Halleri) for “its original narrative, powerful and innovative visual style, and making the invisible visible”. The Special Jury Prize was won by Serdar Kökçeoğlu’s Mimaroglu: the Robinson of Manhattan Island (Mimaroğlu) for “its intimate portrayal of an artist’s life and its masterful use of visual and audio archive material”.