Three of my distinguished friends will be the recipients of The Cinema Honorary Awards of the 31st Istanbul Film Festival. Hereby, I congratulate Ali Özgentürk and Halit. And then there’s Ayşen, who still continues strong since she started in 1975, always creating, always broadening her mind... She always managed to get as much attention as the lead actor. How she does that, nobody knows. The answer is hidden in the magic of film; she made her mark with her face that suits the screen and her charisma, not with her physical appearance. She has always been one of the first names that people thought of when they think about comediennes. As in many other things our cinema is poor when it comes to female comics. In that respect, Ayşen is our treasure.

Arzu Film has been a school for many of us. When we were there in the middle of a creative process, there were never arguments about a role being good or bad. It was a very disciplined school. The important thing was the script. Everybody worked hard to make the script come alive. Sometimes what stays with you from an entire film is just a small frame, a mimic, a face. Ayşen is one of those things that stay with you. Being a comic actor has always been difficult on the silver screen. Very few people were able to pull it off in our cinema. One of them is Ayşen. She has managed to fit close to 50 films, dozens of TV series and unforgettable stage plays in her career. Tosun Paşa (1976), Hababam Sınıfı (1977), Neşeli Günler (1978), Gırgıriye series (1980s), Davaro, Çiçek Abbas, Namuslu... which ones should I count? These films have influenced who knows how many generations. Is there anyone out there who doesn’t get nostalgic when they see a random scene from these films? Becoming a master in acting happens with the combination of intuition, technique and creativity. To be able to maintain this nuanced position for 40 years is the product of a subtle perspective. I salute those who capture quality and persevere in cinema.
– Tarık Akan