TRT World Citizen "Humanitarian Film Festival," organized by TRT to provide film producers with an important platform to address humanitarian issues from their unique perspectives, was held for the fifth time this year.
Istanbul - Participants of the festival, during which significant topics such as war, conflict, women's rights, and the climate crisis were discussed, met with film producers and industry professionals. At the awards ceremony held at the end of the festival, the directors of the winning films received their awards from Presidency's Director of Communications of the Republic of Turkey Fahrettin Altun and General Director of TRT Mehmet Zahid Sobaci. The TRT Special Award at the festival was presented to the film "Night" by Palestinian director Ahmad Saleh.
The TRT World Citizen "Humanitarian Film Festival," which aims to shed light on global humanitarian issues, took place on Sunday, November 5th, at the Ataturk Kultur Merkezi in Istanbul. In its fifth year, the festival centered on topics such as war, conflict, women's rights, the migration crisis, climate change, environmental pollution, hunger, famine, homelessness, and poverty while keeping humanity at its core. The winning films at the festival were awarded by Presidency's Director of Communications of the Republic of Turkey Fahrettin Altun and General Director of TRT Mehmet Zahid Sobaci.
Presidency's Director of Communications of the Republic of Turkey Altun: “I find this festival, which draws attention to millions of people in pain and despair with the power of art, extremely valuable”
Presidency's Director of Communications of the Republic of Turkey Fahrettin Altun, presented the First Prize and Climate Awareness Award at the TRT World Citizen “Humanitarian Film Festival” stated, "I hope that this festival, which is one of the most meaningful manifestations of TRT's human-centered broadcasting policy in recent years, where TRT has been pursuing a 'the essence, the word is human' approach, brings blessings to all of humanity. In today's world, which is going through an extremely critical threshold due to economic crises, pandemics, famine, climate change, and ongoing conflicts, I find this festival, which draws attention to millions of people in pain and despair with the power of art, extremely valuable.”
General Director of TRT Sobaci: "We must lift the blockade in the world's mind”
Mehmet Zahid Sobaci, TRT General Director, presented the TRT Special Award to Palestinian director Ahmad Saleh for his film "Night" during the festival. He thanked all the producers and directors participating in the event and emphasized that the TRT World Citizen "Humanitarian Film Festival" resulted from TRT's "human-centered" approach.
General Director of TRT Sobaci continued his speech by explaining TRT's position in broadcasting to the participants, saying, "As Turkey’s public broadcaster, we adopt a human-centered approach in all our television and radio channels, digital news platforms, mobile applications, and our international digital platform, 'tabii.' In this context, I would like to reiterate my pleasure in hosting you, who focus on humanitarian issues in our country and holding the Humanitarian Film Festival in Turkey, the world's conscience. Just a week ago, we celebrated the centenary of our Republic; we have been striving for the well-being of this region for a thousand years; you are in a country that has always used its power, technology, and will in favor of the oppressed."
The "TRT Special Award" of the festival was presented to the Palestinian director Ahmad Saleh.
In addition to film screenings, the festival featured a "Film Production Panel" with the participation of the festival's jury president Dervis Zaim, jury members Ismael Ferroukhi, Suat Kocer, Vuslat Saracoglu, and Reshad Strik. There was also an "Acting Workshop" with actress Pelin Karahan. The festival received applications from over 370 films from various countries, including Turkey, Iran, Germany, Palestine, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo, Pakistan, Hungary, and New Zealand. Out of these, 12 films were screened, and awards were presented in five categories: Best Film, Second Best Film, Third Best Film, Climate Awareness Special Award, and TRT Special Award. The TRT Special Award was given to the film "Night" by Palestinian director Ahmad Saleh.
The works that received awards are as follows:
- First Place: “Branka”, Akos K. Kovacs (Hungary)
- Second Place: “Split Ends”, Alireza Kazemipour (Iran)
- Third Place: “Displaced”, Samir Karahoda (Kosovo)
- Climate Awareness Award: “The Sprayer”, Farnoosh Abedi (Iran)
- TRT Special Award: “Night”, Ahmad Saleh (Palestine)
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