13th Golden Saffron Festival awaits applications

The festival, open to both amateur and professional documentary filmmakers, will be open to applicants until Aug. 30.

In keeping with the overarching theme of cultural heritage and preservation, the festival this year will run under the theme of woodcraft.

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Safranbolu Mayor Necdet Aksoy said the Safranbolu festival, which has acquired international status, aims to contribute to documentary filmmaking and photography.

“Thanks to the festival, which takes place every year in Safranbolu, a city on the UNESCO World Heritage List, there is currently an archive of some 10,000 documentary films. We [the Safranbolu Municipality] are working to pass the cultural values and traditions of Safranbolu and Turkey on to future generations,” Aksoy said, adding that the film archive is being kept at the Süha Arın Cultural Center.

Safranbolu, located in the northwestern Black Sea province of Karabük, is a town best known for its beautiful wooden Ottoman houses dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The city is named for the saffron flower, which is indigenous to the region and is used to make vivid dyes for carpets and textiles. Saffron is also used to add flavor and aroma to Turkish cuisine.