The Altın Portakal (Golden Orange) International Film Festival unrolls the red carpet on its 49th edition this weekend in the southern province of Antalya, Todays Zaman reported.
Türkan Şoray, the veteran Yeşilçam actress nicknamed the "Sultan of Turkish Cinema," will leave her mark on the opening of this year's festival, set to run for one week in the holiday resort city, the organizers of the event announced in a written statement on Friday.
Şoray will receive the festival's annual "Social Responsibility in Art" honor during Saturday night's opening ceremony, the Antalya Foundation for Culture and Art (AKSAV) said in Friday's statement. Filmmaker Duygu Sağıroğlu, producer Necip Sarıcı and actors Güler Ökten, Salih Güney and Meral Zeren will receive the festival's "Lifetime Achievement" honors during the ceremony, which will be aired live on the news channel NTV.
Other notable guests of this year's festival include Hungarian auteur István Szabó, who will chair the international feature competition judges. Claudie Ossard, the French film producer behind such acclaimed titles as "Amelie" and "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky," will serve on the panel.
The main theme of this year's festival is "Humor, Opposition and Democracy," and its program will focus on Turkish and world cinema of the 1990s, featuring a selection of unforgettable films from the period in several categories. In line with the theme, a gathering of Turkey's leading humorists will take place on the sidelines of the festival.
The fest's national and international feature film competitions will each present 10 films vying for Golden Orange statuettes.
Among the national competition entrants, eight are debut features. Newcomer Ali Aydın's "Küf" (Mold), which had its world premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival, and "Elveda Katya" (Farewell Katya), directed by Ahmet Sönmez and starring Kadir İnanır, are two of the eagerly anticipated titles on the bill.
The 10 films in the international competition include "Death of a Man in the Balkans," directed by Serbian filmmaker Miroslav Momcilovic; "The Convoy," by Russia's Alexey Mizgirev; "Inheritance," which marks the directorial debut of Israeli actor Hiam Abbas; and "Somewhere in Palilula," by Romanian director Silviu Purcarete. Turkey's Erdal Rahmi Hanay also joins in the race with his "Saba." Hungarian director Krisztina Deak's most recent effort, "Aglaya"; Iranian Khosro Masoumi's "Bear"; Polish filmmaker Maciej Zak's "Supermarket"; Georgian director Rusudan Chkonia's debut feature "Keep Smiling"; and German-born director Emily Atef's third feature, "Kill Me," round out the bill.
Directors and cast members of the competition titles are expected to be in Antalya to promote their films during their Altın Portakal galas.
The festival will also screen 21 short films and 16 documentaries, all of which are also in competition.