Winners of the 14th Edition of Akbank Short Film Festival Announced
The Best Shorts Announced
Winners of the 14th Akbank Short Film Festival have been announced. The festival received 1.342 short film applications from across 65 countries for “National and International Film Competition” sections.
After the evaluation of actress Hazar Ergüçlü, director Onur Saylak, writer Hülya Uçansu, photographer Coşar Kulaksız and Akbank Sanat’s Director Derya Bigalı, “MUTLULUK” directed by Necip Çağhan Özdemir was honered BEST NATIONAL FILM AWARD.
After the evaluation of director Ana Katz, actress Farah Zeynep Abdullah, Toronto Film Festival Programmer and Consultant Hayet Benkara and Akbank Sanat’s director Derya Bigalı, “ARIA” directed by Myrsini Aristidou was awarded THE BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARD.
Moreover, in the national category, mention awards went to Onur Yağız with his film “TOPRAK” and Ayris Alptekin with her film “KOT FARKI.” The international category’s mention award was presented to three different filmmakers with two productions. “NEGATIVE SPACE” directed by Ru Kuwahata & Max Porter and “RETOUCH” directed by Kaveh Mazaheri were awarded mention prizes.
Beside best shorts and mention awards, this year’s Akbank Short Film Forum competition supported two young screenwriters and their works for the second time. After the evaluation of actress Feride Çetin, cinema writer Banu Bozdemir and screenwriter & director Mehmet Eryılmaz, “BEST SCREENPLAY AWARD” went to “TOR'' written by Ragıp Türk. In this section Fırat Özeler and his screenplay “ZİYAFET” has the mention prize.
The “Audience Award” was presented to Hasan Ali Kılıçgün’s “3,5 Liras” film as a result of the votes from cinema-enthusiasts following the festival with great interest.
The directors of the winning films in BEST NATIONAL FILM and BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM categories received a 5,000 USD cash prize each from Akbank Sanat. The winner of the Akbank Short Film Forum category received a 3,000 TL from Akbank Sanat.
The award-winning films of the 14th Akbank Short Film Festival will be featured in university campuses across Turkey including those in Edirne, Van, Zonguldak, Mersin, between April 2 and May 17.