12th Boston Turkish Film Festival kicks off with Inside

BOSTON - March 23, 2013 - PRLog -- Boston Turkish Film and Music Festival film program began on March 21st with director Zeki Demirkubuz’s “Inside” and continues with a concert series until April 27th. One of the most important Turkish film festivals in North America, the festival program mostly consists of feature films. However, in recent years it has also become a tradition to present a selection of documentaries and short films.

This year 19 films will be screened in the festival, once again representing a selection of the best of contemporary Turkish cinema and providing a platform for the U.S. cinema enthusiasts to meet Turkish filmmakers.

Boston Globe covered the festival with a headline, “Turkish films take over Museum of Fine Arts”, and The Phoenix published a festival review, “Underground Cinema: The 12th Boston Turkish Film Festival”. The festival program began on March 21st with the screening of “Inside” (Yeralti), the latest work of director Zeki Demirkubuz at the Museum of Fine Arts, followed by the festival opening reception at the museum. Following films have their North America premieres at the festival; Load by Erden Kıral, Do Not Forget Me Istanbul by Hüseyin Karabey, Know My Name by İnan Temelkuran and Kristen Stevens, The Extremely Tragic Story of Celal Tan and His Family by Onur Ünlü, Last Stop Salvation by Yusuf Pirhasan, Voice of My Father by Orhan Eskiköy and Zeynel Doğan, Strangers in the House by Dilek Keser and Ulaş Güneş Kaçargil, Mahmut and Meryem by Mehmet Ada Öztekin. The festival program also includes the screenings of On Fertile Lands by Erden Kıral, Mold by Ali Aydın, Beyond the Hill by Emin Alper, The Labyrinth by Tolga Örnek, and The Lost Songs of Anatolia by Nezin Ünen.

Excellence in Turkish Cinema Award goes to Erden Kıral

The Boston Turkish Film Festival Award for Excellence in Turkish Cinema is celebrating its seventh year and this year’s recipient is director Erden Kıral. Kıral’s award will be presented at an award ceremony at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Award-winning films of the Documentary and Short Film Competition are also at the Festival

Award-winning films of the 17th Boston Turkish Festival Documentary and Short Film Competition, which took place in December 2012, will be meeting with the film festival audience as well. Best Short Film Jury Award winners, Silent by Rezan Yeşilbaş and Musa by Serhat Karaaslan, Best Short Film Audience Award winner Bread by Koray Sevindi, Best Documentary Jury Award winner Honor by Aysun Bademsoy, and Best Documentary Audience Award winner Life as a Fable – A Narrative will be screened during the festival program.

Boston media praises the festival

Erkut Gömülü, founding director of the festival, said that they were happy to be presenting the Boston Turkish Film Festival once again with a rich program to the U.S. audience, and also very glad and encouraged to be praised by the film editors of major newspapers such as Boston Globe and The Phoenix, as well as being nominated by The Phoenix “Best Film Festival in 2013” among six important film festivals in Boston. Gömülü thanked all followers and supporters of the festival, and the main sponsors, Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF), The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, and Turkish Airlines.

For more information about the festival please visit http://www.BostonTurkishFilmFestival.org