Stone and Feather Leads 63rd Golden Orange with 6 Awards, Best Director Goes to Ustaoğlu

At the closing ceremony of the 63rd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival held at the Glass Pyramid Fair and Convention Center hosted by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, Stone and Feather, directed by Ragıp Türk, won the Best Film award in the National Feature Film category. Anadolu Agency reported.

Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Büşra Özdemir emphasized in her opening remarks that the Golden Orange represents Turkey's memory, noting it is the story of those who have believed in cinema over the years and left their mark on the future through their work, and said this festival beating in Antalya's heart "will continue to inspire future generations." National Feature Film Competition Jury President Derviş Zaim said that cinema is not merely an entertainment medium, but also a powerful transformative force that reflects social events and has the power to mobilize masses.

Stone and Feather also won Best Screenplay and Best Director awards. Actress Melda Tuzluca received the Cahide Sonku Award, while Naim Kanat received a shared Best Editing Award with Emir Ziyalar and Jerome Pesnel from the film Ancient Blue. As the Sungu Çapan National Cinema Writers Award went to Stone and Feather, the film completed the evening with 6 awards.

In his award speech, director Ragıp Türk recounted how he came to Istanbul in 2003 to become a musician, and within a few years began wandering as a musician who had not found success. Türk said that while wandering unemployed a few years later, he accidentally found work on a film set, where he "began to understand what cinema was," and after observing the director extensively, decided to become a director himself, thanking Yeşim Ustaoğlu for the inspiration she provided.

The National Best Director award was won by Yeşim Ustaoğlu for the film Remnants. Öykü Karayel from the same film was selected as Best Actress. Remnants also won Best Production Designer (Osman Özcan and Görkem Canbolat) and Best Cinematographer (Kiril Prodanov) awards.

The Best Actor award went to Mehmet Günsür and Mert Fırat for their performances in the film Death of Truth. Twelve-year-old Duygu Köse won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in About a Mother; İlhan Şen and Erdal Babaoğlu shared the Best Supporting Actor award for the film Wedding of the Jinn. Behlül Dal won the Best Debut Film award for About a Mother, and the Dr. Avni Tolunay Jury Special Award went to Emir Ziyalar, director of the film Ancient Blue. Can Kuman from Ancient Blue also won the Best Music award.

In short film and documentary categories, the Best Short Film Award went to Brief Sense, directed by Soner Alan. The Best Director award in the short/documentary category went to Sis Gürdal, director of the film Orange, and the Jury Special Award was presented to Melis Balcı for the film Kindergarten. The Documentary Jury Special Award went to Ash and Salt directed by Çağatay Yurt, and the Best Documentary Film Award went to The Liable, directed by Arda Sarıgün.

In the international competition, the Best Film award went to One of My Fathers is the Moon, directed by George Ovashvili, while the Jury Special Award went to Andrey Zvyagintsev's Minotaur. The International Best Actor award went to Mahendra Perera, Shyam Fernando, Randika Gunathilaka, and Priyantha Sirikumara from the Indian production Riverstone. The International Best Actress award went to Magdelana Laubisch for the film Six Weeks of Goodbye. The International Best Director award was won by Lorenzo Ferro and Lucas Vignale, directors of the film River Train. The Sungu Çapan International Cinema Writers Award also went to the film Black Rabbit, White Rabbit.