This month's 15th London Turkish Film Festival will kick off on Nov. 5 with an opening gala, which will feature the British premiere of Atalay Taşdiken's “Mommo, Kızkardeşim” (Mommo the Bogeyman), the organizers said in a written statement.Şoray will be the first-ever recipient of the festival's newly introduced Lifetime Achievement Award, the statement said. The 64-year-old actress will also attend a dinner supporting a new filmmaking project for children, “Kids in Motion,” on the sidelines of the festival, on Nov. 4, according to the festival's Web site, www.ltff.org.uk.
Five titles will be in contention in this year's LTFF for the UK's first-ever Digital Distribution Award. They are Taşdiken's “Mommo the Bogeyman,” Ümit Ünal's “Gölgesizler” (The Shadowless), Reha Erdem's “Hayat Var” (My Only Sunshine), Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun's European Film Academy award-nominated debut “Uzak İhtimal” (Wrong Rosary), and the multiple award-winner, “Köprüdekiler” (Men On The Bridge), by Aslı Özge. The LTFF will award the most promising film with a digital distribution contract for release in the UK and Ireland.
Over 15 days, the festival will also feature a further seven films out of competition. They include “Hayatın Tuzu” (The Salt Of Life) by Murat Düzgünoğlu, “Gökten Üç Elma Düştü” (Three Apples Fell From The Sky) by Rasit Çelikezer, “Fikret Bey” by Selma Köksal, “Güz Sancısı” (Pains Of Autumn) by Tomris Giritlioğlu and two full-length documentaries: Özgür Doğan and Orhan Eskiköy's “İki Dil Bir Bavul” (On The Way To School), which traces the life of an idealistic teacher in an ethnic Kurdish village in southeast Turkey; and Kazım Öz's “Demsala Dawî: Şewaxan” (Shawaks), which follows a year in the life of a nomadic tribe.
“After 15 festivals and this year's three new awards, we feel like we've earned the golden wings that make up our new logo,” Vedide Kaymak, the festival's director, said in the statement. “The festival provides a great platform to showcase the best of new Turkish cinema in London, and the digital distribution contract represents a milest one,” Kaymak added. All the films in the festival will also compete for the newly established People's Choice Award, voted for by audiences.
