Golden Boll Film Festival to screen 210 films

ADANA

Veteran Turkish actress Suna Selen is among those who will receive an award at this year’s International Golden Ball Film Festival.

The 33rd International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, running Sept. 26 to Oct. 4 under the theme “A World Without Plastics,” will feature 210 films across 450 screenings.

The festival seeks to raise public awareness about the climate crisis, spotlighting how microplastics threaten water sources and degrade fragile ecosystems.

The festival will also feature the National Artificial Intelligence Short Film Competition for the first time this year.

İsmail Timuçin, vice chairman of the Golden Boll board and the festival’s general coordinator, said, “Short films created with artificial intelligence will compete for the first time this year. Artificial intelligence has started to make its presence felt in both national cinema and student short films. There is particularly strong interest in this field among younger generations. We have, therefore, created a competition section to support this field.”

A total of 8.45 million Turkish Liras will be awarded to winners across the festival’s competitions, Timuçin said, adding that the best film will receive a prize of 4 million Turkish liras.

The festival will open on Sept. 26 with the Orhan Kemal Labor Awards ceremony. Actor Suna Selen, screenwriter and actor Macit Koper and producer Aydin Sayman will receive awards at the ceremony.

Film screenings will be held in all districts of Adana, which has a long-standing cinema culture.

“We are trying to bring back the atmosphere of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in Adana with screenings in nearly 40 neighborhoods and five open-air cinemas we have established,” Hüseyin Orhan, general manager of Golden Boll, said.

“Over its 58-year history, the festival is being held for the 33rd time, and we choose a motto every year. This year, we have all seen very closely the amount of plastic waste along the Mediterranean coast. The increase in microplastics has begun to threaten water and aquatic life. That is why we chose ‘A World Without Plastics’ as our motto.”

As part of the festival’s activities, a sapling will be planted for each of the 5,000 students from disadvantaged areas who will be introduced to cinema through the event, he said.

The festival will also commemorate veteran actor Kadir İnanir, who died this year, through talks and exhibitions.