The 59th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival takes place October 1-8th in Antalya, Turkey. There are two types of film festivals, ones meant to bring in outside films and ones meant to promote domestic films. This festival is the latter. The festival started with only Turkish cinema. Even though it brought in international categories later (even bringing in well-known people to the festival, like Francis Ford Coppola and Vanessa Redgrave), the focus is still very much on domestic creations. So much so that the juried awards have become known as the Turkish Oscars. Pre-pandemic, the festival attracted crowds of over 20,000. It’s a festival worth checking out for multiple reasons.
The location. It’s on the Mediterranean, but with only a quarter of the attendance of Cannes, you can probably actually enjoy the beauty the Turkish Riviera has to offer when you aren’t seeing films.
While access to independent cinema has gotten a little easier with the changing streaming market place, festivals can still be the only way to see works and that makes this festival especially important for seeing Turkish cinema. Whether you are from Turkey or another country, the festival represents an important opportunity to access Turkish cinema and see what filmmakers in Turkey are creating. While Turkey has yet to receive a nomination for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards, if they do, the film has a good chance of having played at the Antalya Golden Orange Festival first.
The Golden Orange herself. The award and the festival logo are both gorgeous examples of design execution. Venus inside the orange for the logo, and Venus holding an orange for the award. Both represent the region where oranges are an important symbol and resource, and Antalya isn’t too far from Aphrodisias (Aphrodite AKA Venus’ Turkish home). She’s classy, aesthetic, and, like the entire festival, very much grounded in a sense of place. She’s rooted in her region, in her country.
Speaking of the awards, my top selling point for this festival is the uniqueness of the awards presentation. The Golden Oranges are presented in Aspendos Amphitheatre. A site I was surprised isn’t on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The ancient Roman Amphitheatre is one of the best preserved (in Tukey and the World) because in the 13th century, a time when many of these structures were being stripped or left in disrepair, a restoration took place on it. It hosts shows to this day, including the Golden Orange Awards (weather dependent), and can seat 7,000. Awards presentations can be dull if you don’t have a stake in a winner, but a transportive venue can help bridge the divide between passive spectators and active revelers.
Early October is a great time to travel. It’s off or bumper season, and the weather is temperate in most places. If you’re nearby Antalya, why not make a little trip and check out this festival? If you’re further away maybe keep it in mind for travel next year because if you love film, it’s wonderful to see new cinema and a new place simultaneously.
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