Organised within the scope of the Istanbul Film Festival between the dates of 12-14 April, Meetings on the Bridge announced the award winners.
Supported by Anadolu Efes, Meetings on the Bridge had five documentary and fourteen feature film projects, as well as four series projects. Throughout the programme, the projects had their debut presentations. Six feature films and two documentary films in post-production had screenings between 12 and 14 April, which took place on online screening platforms only open for film professionals.
Creative teams in the Series on the Bridge Workshop, sponsored by OGM Pictures, received training sessions from sector professionals. Film Development Workshop teams worked on script, pitching and production.
At the end of the training and workshops of Meetings on the Bridge, supported by Mattepost Post-Production, awards were granted to the award winning project and film teams.
Work in Progress Awards
Work in Progress awards were presented by the jury members Anita Juka (4Film Production), Osnat Bukofzer (Israel Cinema Project) and Yorgos Tsourgiannis (Horsefly Films).
ANADOLU EFES AWARD: NEW DAWN FADES
JURY’S DELIBERATION: For its meditative story combined with an impressive cinematic expression and use of music, blending documentary and fiction narrative genres; examining individual and collective trauma, Anadolu Efes Award goes to New Dawn Fades.
MATTEPOST POST-PRODUCTION AWARD: BERNA
JURY’S DELIBERATION: With a strong script that conveys relationships in a dysfunctional family in a unique way by combining acting, cinematography, and the use of music that manages to touch the heart, highlighting manifestations of patriarchy in contemporary Turkey, Mattepost Post-Production Award goes to Berna.
BAŞKA SİNEMA DISTRIBUTION AND PROMOTION AWARD: THIS BEAUTIFUL NIGHT
JURY’S DELIBERATION: We are giving the Başka Cinema Distribution and Promotion Award to This Beautiful Night, as we want to present this gracefully told story about the struggles of growing up on your 20s, with as many audiences as possible.
FRAGMANHOUSE AWARD: THIS BEAUTIFUL NIGHT
JURY’S DELIBERATION: Through pitch perfect female performances, gentle cinematography and apt use of narrative ellipses, the filmmaker paints a masterful portrait of a young woman’s coping with loss and change whilst carving her own place in the world, , the Fragmanhouse Award goes to This Beautiful Night.
DAIRE CREATIVE KEY ART DESIGN AWARD: ON THE WATER SURFACE
JURY’S DELIBERATION: Thanks to a tight script, excellent acting, cinematography, and creative use of music, emotionally rich coming of age drama sharing the complex relationship between a mother and daughter; the Daire Creative Key Art Design Award goes to On the Water Surface.
DAE Special Support Award: WOMEN WITH PURPLE VIOLETS
JURY’S DELIBERATION: An important documentary about female football fans through lucid characters who speaks much more than just about football, we are reminded of the importance of shared and inclusive spaces and communities about female rights and emancipation, the DAE Special Support Award goes to Women With Purple Violets.
Film Development Awards
The jury members of the Film Development Workshop, Dumitrana Lupu (Translyvania Pitch Stop), Nathalie Mesuret (Blue Monday Productions), Margje de Koning (IKON), selected the award winners after the pitching sessions that took place between 12 and 14 April. The jury was impressed about the eagerness, intelligent, urgency, brave, creative, personal projects. The pitches were all extremely well prepared and political strong.
CNC AWARD: NEVER AGAIN!
JURY’S DELIBERATION: Through the last, very tense, 24 hours of a couple breaking up, mainly through voice mails, the films proposes a reflection on toxic, narcissistic relationships and contemporary social pressure.
MEETINGS ON THE BRIDGE AWARD: MEMENTO NON MORI
JURY’S DELIBERATION: This tender and personal driven film, addresses the position of certain girls not getting a change for education. A tribute to the fight for women’s education.
MATTEPOST POST-PRODUCTION ONLINE AWARD: HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THE SEA
JURY’S DELIBERATION: An urgent topic being addressed in black humorious, brave and bold way which the jury appreciated highly.
MELODİKA SOUND AWARD: BEKES
JURY’S DELIBERATION: A clever metaphor of images we sadly enough became too familiar with and imuum to. The film, through the eyes of an animal, makes us aware of the devastating circumstances of the refugees at the border of Syria.
POSTBIYIK SOUND POST-PRODUCTION AWARD: FIFTH EYE
JURY’S DELIBERATION: A very necessary, important project reminding us of the huge importance of art and artists under censorship, putting themselves in danger to use art as a weapon of resistance.
MEDITERRENEAN FILM INSTITUTE (MFI) SCRIPT WORKSHOP AWARD WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER.
SEYAP AWARD: OUT OF THE BLUE
JURY’S DELIBERATION: The SEYAP Production Consultancy award goes to the project Out of the Blue and its producers, Nefisah Laleh and Berk Tuncer, for their approach and the effort they have put into the project thus far. We believe that this award will provide them with the necessary support to carry out the film they have been striving for.
TRANSYLVANIA PITCH STOP AWARD: VEHA
JURY’S DELIBERATION: The project, being pitched for the first time, the jury believes it’s ready to go to the next step, the co-production market at the Transylvania FF. The film tackles independent choices of women and carrying the sometime harsh consequences of those choices.
Series on the Bridge Awards
The jury members Türkan Derya, Rana Mamatlıoğlu and Ayşıl Özmen of the Series on the Bridge Workshop, sponsored by OGM Pictures, presented the awards to:
OGM PICTURES SPECIAL AWARD: MAGIK CARPET RIDE
JURY’S DELIBERATION: We are of the opinion that Magik Carpet Ride will be universally interesting as a highly dynamic work with its innovative way of handling the immigration issue as a way of expression, has strong character bases with colorful bonds and communication between them, and it has a high viewing pleasure and follow-up elements.
