Twelveth Boston Turkish Film Festival to kick off

The 12th Boston Turkish Film and Music Festival (BTFF) will kick off on Thursday with Zeki Demirkubuz's film "Yeralti" ("Underground"). One of the most important Turkish film festivals in North America, the festival program mostly consists of feature films. However, in recent years it has also become a tradition to present a selection of documentaries and short films. This year 19 films will be screened in the festival, once again representing a selection of the best of contemporary Turkish cinema and providing a platform for the U.S. cinema enthusiasts to meet Turkish filmmakers. Boston Globe covered the festival with a headline, “Turkish films take over Museum of Fine Arts”, and The Phoenix published a festival review, “Underground Cinema: The 12th Boston Turkish Film Festival”. The festival program will begin on March 21st with the screening of “Inside”, the latest work of director Zeki Demirkubuz at the Museum of Fine Arts, followed by the festival opening reception at the museum. Following films will have their North America premieres at the festival; Load by Erden Kiral, Do Not Forget Me Istanbul by Huseyin Karabey, Know My Name by Inan Temelkuran and Kristen Stevens, The Extremely Tragic Story of Celal Tan and His Family by Onur Unlu, Last Stop Salvation by Yusuf Pirhasan, Voice of My Father by Orhan Eskikoy and Zeynel Dogan, Strangers in the House by Dilek Keser and Ulas Gunes Kacargil, Mahmut and Meryem by Mehmet Ada Oztekin. The festival program also includes the screenings of On Fertile Lands by Erden Kiral, Mold by Ali Aydin, Beyond the Hill by Emin Alper, The Labyrinth by Tolga Ornek, and The Lost Songs of Anatolia by Nezin Unen. Excellence in Turkish Cinema Award goes to Erden Kiral. The Boston Turkish Film Festival Award for Excellence in Turkish Cinema is celebrating its seventh year and this year’s recipient is director Erden Kiral. Kiral’s award will be presented at an award ceremony at the Museum of Fine Arts. Award-winning films of the Documentary and Short Film Competition are also at the Festival. Award-winning films of the 17th Boston Turkish Festival Documentary and Short Film Competition, which took place in December 2012, will be meeting with the film festival audience as well. Best Short Film Jury Award winners, Silent by Rezan Yesilbas and Musa by Serhat Karaaslan, Best Short Film Audience Award winner Bread by Koray Sevindi, Best Documentary Jury Award winner Honor by Aysun Bademsoy, and Best Documentary Audience Award winner Life as a Fable – A Narrative will be screened during the festival program. Erkut Gomulu, founding director of the festival, said that they were happy to be presenting the Boston Turkish Film Festival once again with a rich program to the U.S. audience, and also very glad and encouraged to be praised by the film editors of major newspapers such as Boston Globe and The Phoenix, as well as being nominated by The Phoenix “Best Film Festival in 2013” among six important film festivals in Boston. Gomulu thanked all followers and supporters of the festival, and the main sponsors, Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF), The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, and Turkish Airlines. The Festival will continue until April 27 with films and concerts.