Turkish film director wins award in New York

NEW YORK - Anatolia News Agency

Director Ali Yasin Akarçeşme wins the best drama award at the US film event.

Turkish director Ali Yasin Akarçeşme received the best drama award at New York’s Brownish Film Festival for his film “Kavuşma” (Departures).

Akarçeşme said his film was one of the six drama features at the Brownish Film Festival.

“This was a great success for me,” Akarçeşme told Anatolia news agency. “Receiving the best drama award from the jury made me very happy.”

“New York is a city with tough competition among filmmakers. Receiving an award in such a city was a happy occasion. My film is being shown at various film festivals,” Akarçeşme said.

The director said “Departures” was his first short film and added that he had worked on the film for 18 months.

Akarçeşme, who has a master’s degree on directing at the New York School of Visual Arts, has been living in New York for 12 years. He said his film would also be shown at other festivals. “The film will also compete in the drama branch at the ITN Film Festival, which is continuing in the United States.”

The film, which is focuses on immigration, has not been released yet in Turkey. “Immigration is currently a hot issue in the U.S. This is why it draws more interest in this country,” he said.

Five percent of the film was made in Istanbul while 95 percent was made in the United U.S., he said, adding that Turks played the four main characters in the film.