Yed-i Velayet 7 Vilayet Short Film Festival announces its award winners

The awards were presented at the 11th ‘International Yed-i Velayet 7 Vilayet Short Film Festival’, organized by the Ehli Sanat Cinema and Culture Association with the support of Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTSO) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Cinema General Directorate. Held within the framework of the Turkey Cultural Festival programs, the event was themed ‘From Past to Future: Space Aviation and Technology’. The festival, held at the Gokmen Space Aviation Center, awarded the best 7 screenplays and the best 4 films on the final night.

Turkey’s first interactive space aviation education center GUHEM hosted the award ceremony of the International Yed-i Velayet 7 Vilayet Short Film Festival. Speaking at the opening speech, BTSO Board Member Alparslan Şenocak stated that the most important actors in the advanced technology production goals are young people with high self-confidence. Şenocak emphasized that young people working with determination and faith, gaining new horizons, will also guide Turkey’s goals, and pointed out that GUHEM, which hosted the award ceremony, is the concrete outcome of a process that started with such a dream.

“GUHEM strengthens Turkey’s space journey”

Alparslan Şenocak reminded that GUHEM, which is among the top 5 centers in the world and the largest in Europe, is included in Turkey’s first national space program. Stressing that Turkey needs qualified human resources first to achieve a sustainable structure that can compete with the world in the space sector, Şenocak said, “This unique center also showcases the works of pioneering figures that have engraved their names not only in our country’s but also in the world’s history of space aviation. In our festival organized under the subheading ‘From Past to Future: Space Aviation and Technology’, we rewarded screenplays inspired by success stories of those who have left their mark in the space and aviation field. I sincerely congratulate all our artists and everyone involved who actively contribute to conveying the life stories of these important figures to future generations on the white screen.”

“We brought the first explorers of the science world to our time”

Eda Sürmeli, the President of the International Yed-i Velayet 7 Vilayet Short Film Festival, stated that they organized the 11th edition of the festival with the theme ‘From Past to Future: Space Aviation and Technology’, saying, “We are having a great event at one of the world’s few space aviation and education centers. This center has a very different value and meaning. Today, GUHEM, where we organize our event, is a gateway from the past to the future. I must say that this center has also inspired us. The theme of our festival this year had a purpose. 1300 years ago, Western civilization was facing great problems. The name of this period that would last for a thousand years was the Middle Ages. The situation in the East of the world was very different from the West. The golden age of knowledge and science was being experienced in the East. This year, we aimed to make these little-known facts known. We chose this theme to trace the footsteps of the first explorers of the science world to our time. I thank our Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Cinema General Directorate, BTSO, Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, and Bursa Governorship, which have been supporting this goal for 11 years.”

The honorary award recipient was Mohammad Reza Aslani

At the award ceremony, this year’s honorary award was presented to poet, director, and cinema theorist Mohammad Reza Aslani. Director Aslani expressed his gratitude to those who deemed him worthy of this important award on this significant night. He thanked for being invited to Bursa, a historic city, and stated, “There is a very different purpose of this festival. A valuable work is being done here. An organization that inspires young people is being held. It is an honor for me to be here.” Following this, a visual event consisting of theater and films from the past to the future was held in the program.

The best thematic screenplays were awarded

The first prize of the 7 thematic screenplay competition and the awards for the 4 best short film directors were presented. The best screenplay award in the ‘Abbas Ibn Firnas’ category went to Abdul Jalil Namanjanov with the Andalusian Abbas Script, the best screenplay award in the ‘Ali Kuşçu’ theme went to Muhammed Mamadiar Uuluğ with the Kefiş script, in the ‘El Cezeri’ category, Ezgi Özay with Paradigma, in the ‘Uluğ Bey’ category, Alpha Oumar Diolla with the Zici Sultani script, in the ‘Fergani’ category, Yasin Erdoğan with the Ferhan script, in the ‘Hazerfen Ahmet Çelebi’ theme, Rasul Saltykov with the Bin Fenli Çelebi script, and the best screenplay award in the ‘Meryem El Usturlabi’ theme went to Musa Çalışkan with the Arşın Annesi Meryem script.

Documentary and short films were awarded

Following the screenplay awards, the best experimental film award and also the BTSO Honorable Mention award went to Director Serdal Altun for the film ‘Kota’. The best documentary film award of the night was also presented to Mehmet Ali Poyraz, the director of ‘YAREN’. The best animation film award went to ‘M.O.H.K’ and its director Kaan Bora Topçu, while the best fiction short film award was presented to Baran Karaoğlan for ‘The Experiment Ark Project’.

The program was attended by Deputy Governor Rıza Gençoğlu, Bursa Deputy Emine Yavuz Gözgeç, BTSO Board Members Hakan Batmaz and Haşim Kılıç, BTSO Council Speaker Gülçin Güleç, Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Kamil Özer, representatives from the art and business world.