International Golden Saffron Documentary Film Festival has completed a quarter of a century

In the world-famous district of Safranbolu, which is home to Karabük’s houses listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and in the Cittaslow category, 1,448 works were submitted to the 25th International Golden Saffron Documentary Film Festival this year under the main theme of ‘Cultural Heritage and Conservation’. The 25th International Golden Saffron Documentary Film Festival started with a wreath-laying ceremony by Safranbolu Mayor Elif Köse at the Misak-ı Milli Square. Within the framework of the quarter-century-old festival, 1,448 works from 109 countries participated in the Golden Saffron Documentary Film Competition. The award-winning documentary films will be presented on the last day of the festival. A festival briefing meeting was held at the Social Facilities of Safranbolu Municipality under the chairmanship of Mayor Elif Köse. In addition to Köse, CHP Karabük Deputy Cevdet Akay, festival jury members, and invitees attended the meeting. Speaking at the meeting, Köse stated that the International Golden Saffron Documentary Film Festival, which has been continuing for a quarter of a century, has made a significant contribution to the promotion of Safranbolu in terms of tourism. Emphasizing the importance of the festival for Safranbolu, Köse said, ‘This year, we have prepared the content of the festival for a quarter of a century in a way that is worthy of a documentary film festival once again. 109 participants from 109 countries took part in the documentary competition to be held in four different categories. The 25 finalists were meticulously selected by our esteemed jury members. In the International Feature-Length Documentary Film competition, there are 7 participants, in the International Short Documentary Film competition, there are 7 participants again, in the National Documentary Film Competition themed Cultural Heritage and Conservation, there are 7 participants, and in the Documentary Film Production Support competition, there are 4 participants.’ Köse also stated, ‘An important aspect of the festival that I see is that we will present the Türker İnanoğlu Honorary Award to the valuable cinema writer and critic Atilla Dorsay in memory of Türker İnanoğlu, one of the values we lost last month.’ CHP Karabük Deputy Cevdet Akay, who emphasized that Safranbolu is a city that values culture and art, said, ‘In this sense, I think it should also be one of our most important duties to facilitate the way for cinema workers and cinephiles to work in more comfortable conditions.’