Organized for the eighth time this yr by the Sabancı Foundation with the slogan “Short Film Long Impact,” themed “In short we suffer from thirst” introduced its winners on Wednesday.
The first prize went to the movie “Life in Dreams,” directed by Can Yeşiloğlu. Speaking on the award ceremony, Güler Sabancı, chairperson of the board of trustees of the Sabancı Foundation, stated: “For this year’s competition, we chose the theme ‘Water Crisis,’ which is currently and in the future considered among the most important problems on the entire planet. Fortunately, filmmakers have internalized this issue and produced striking works.”
Out of the 12 works that made it to the finals within the competitors, the primary prize went to the movie “Life in Dreams,” directed by Can Yeşiloğlu. Güler Sabancı offered the award to Yeşiloğlu. The second place within the competitors, the movie “Toward the End,” was awarded to the director Cihan Yıldırım by Nevgül Bilsel Safkan, an advisory committee member of the Sabancı Foundation. The third-place movie “Anthropocene,” directed by Mehmet Gürü Avcu, obtained the award offered by Zeynep Atakan, the artwork director of the competitors. The Honorable Mention Award went to Sinan Kaldan for the movie “Wild,” whereas the Social Impact Award was given to Cihan Yıldırım for the second-place movie “Towards the End.”
Speaking to Daily Sabah, Safkan remarked: “The quality of films improves every year. After going through a research and discussion process each year, we try to address a global and current issue. Intensive content work is done until the competition is concluded, and we discuss the topic throughout the year. The overarching title contains many themes. Directors create these themes by drawing inspiration from the problem. And finally, after eight years, we won the European Film Academy Award for the first time. This award, given to leaders for sustainability efforts and organized for the 36th time, was presented to our beloved leader Güler Sabancı. This not only made us proud but also brought us happiness to achieve a first for our country. It became a reward for the intensive work we have done.”
Güler Sabancı was honored with the Sustainability Award (Prix Film4Climate) in December 2023 in Europe, extending the scope of sustainability past environmental sustainability, recognizing inspiring establishments and organizations and selling a way of duty.
The winners of the awards have been decided via evaluations by the jury of the eighth Short Film Competition, consisting of movie critic Alin Taşçıyan, profitable actors in theater and essential productions Salih Bademci and Tilbe Saran and movie producer and director from world cinema Jamillah Van Der Hulst, together with artistic producer and script guide Suzanne Pradel. The Social Impact Jury included journalist Nilay Örnek, architect Özgül Öztürk and social entrepreneur Yasemin Kırkağaçlıoğlu.
Also, the artwork director, Zeynep Atakan, stated: “The two films that made it to the final exhibit a meticulous examination of the theme. Addressing thirst from diverse perspectives, the films provide a fresh outlook, uniquely fostering awareness. Each film, with its distinct narrative, offers glimpses into potential future scenarios. The progression is evident, with each year proving to be stronger than its predecessor. Notably, the films this year stand out for their thoughtful approach, challenging participants to delve deeper into the theme. The technical and visual quality of the submissions this year is commendable, marking a departure from earlier years.”
Award ceremony
“Exactly eight years ago, with the slogan ‘Short Film Long Impact,’ we launched the Short Film Competition to draw attention to social issues through cinema and contribute to the development of young artists. In this context, for these years, we have focused on very important current problems and aimed to create awareness in society. This year, we chose our theme as the ‘Water Crisis,’ which is currently and in the future considered one of the most important problems facing humanity. We wanted to once again highlight water scarcity, one of the undeniable consequences of the climate emergency, through short films that fit into five minutes and create a shocking effect on the audience,” Güler Sabancı stated in the course of the ceremony.
“Fortunately, filmmakers have embraced the importance of this issue and put their signatures on striking works. The potential we see in the cinema field during the application process and evaluation of the Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition pleases us more and more every year. I wish our competition, which serves as a stepping stone for young filmmakers, opens new doors for them, and I congratulate all the applicants who applied to our competition,” she added.
The first-place winner of the Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition obtained a prize of TL 60,000 ($1,990), the second-place winner obtained TL 40,000 and the third-place winner obtained TL 25,000. The Social Impact Award was additionally rewarded with TL 25,000 for the primary time this yr.
The Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition addressed “Refugee Women” in its first yr, “Child Laborers” within the second yr, “Discrimination” within the third yr, “Digital Loneliness” within the fourth yr, “Changing Climates, Changing Lives” within the fifth yr, “New Professions in the New World” within the sixth yr, “Young Women Not Involved in Education or Employment” within the seventh yr, and with the theme of “Water Crisis” in its eighth yr.
All the movies which were launched up to now may be watched on the Sabancı Foundation’s YouTube channel, that includes not solely the newest releases but in addition these from earlier years.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
