Antalya film fest ends with awards, controversy

Directors Tolga Karaçelik and Mustafa Kara films were the big winners at the Golden Oranges in Antalya amid a new controversy over censorship Director Tolga Karaçelik's "Sarma??k" (Ivy) and Mustafa Kara's "Kalandar So?u?u" (Kalandar Cold) were the big winners of the 52nd Antalya Film Festival, picking up four awards for each.

The soirée, however, was marked by censorship after pro-government broadcaster A Haber cut off a speech by Nadir Sar?bacak, who won the best actor award at the event for his role in "Ivy," after he mentioned an alcoholic drink in calling for unity in Turkey.

"Only brotherhood and conversation will save us. A glass of rak? or a tea?" Sar?bacak said before A Haber cut to a shot from outside the Glass Pyramid, where the Golden Orange Awards were being handed out on Dec. 6.

"I will take 60 of your seconds," Sar?bacak said to begin his acceptance speech. "Thanks to Tolga [Karaçelik] for offering such a role to me. I also thank all the team members and the jury members. I want to say something; 30 seconds. I have problems with the country. I have many good friends thanks to this film. They are from different religions, languages, races and sects. I love them so much. I believe that only brotherhood and conversation will save us; conversation with maybe a glass of rak? or tea. Because we are like body organs, just as how the ear cannot be in opposition to the mouth or the hand to the foot, when one of them is cut off, the entire body suffers pain. We have fate in common in this country."

 
'I won't say anything bad'

Karaçelik, whose "Ivy" won the best feature film, best director and best script awards in the National Feature Film Competition, late took the stage, saying, "You don't have to cut...