The 63rd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (Altın Portakal), Türkiye’s longest-running film festival, opens on Saturday with its traditional parade of actors through the city centre in the afternoon and a free opening ceremony in the evening.
The festival is run by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality and continues until 31 October under the slogan "Daima" ("Always"). It was first held in 1964 at the initiative of then Antalya mayor Avni Tolunay, according to the Demirören News Agency (DHA).
Parade route and opening ceremony
The parade (kortej) starts at 14:30 in front of the Atatürk Culture Centre (AKM). It then moves along Sakıp Sabancı Boulevard, Yüzüncü Yıl Avenue, Güllük, the Selekler bazaar, Republic Square (Cumhuriyet Meydanı), past the governor’s office and down Atatürk Avenue and Işıklar, before ending at Karaalioğlu Park, local media reported. The organisers did not announce road closures, but drivers should expect traffic around this central route on Saturday afternoon.
National feature jury president Derviş Zaim, actors Meryem Uzerli and Yılmaz Erdoğan, and veteran names of Turkish cinema such as İlyas Salman, Salih Güney and Tarık Tarcan are among those expected to take part, according to the reports. Büşra Özdemir, the acting mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, invited residents to join both the parade and the evening ceremony.
The opening ceremony starts at 19:30 at the Antalya Sports Hall (Antalya Spor Salonu), and admission is free.
What is on and what it costs
The festival has a budget of 136 million lira, paid entirely by the municipality, DHA said. Screening tickets cost 50 lira, or 20 lira at the discounted rate, and children’s films are free, according to Medyascope’s report on the festival’s press conference earlier this month.
The festival’s main prize, best film in the National Feature Film Competition, carries 5 million lira, and total prize money across the competitions is 11 million lira. Our earlier report covered the films selected for the national competition. An international competition, a special selection of films from Iran, Palestine, Ukraine and Lebanon, and the Film Forum project market for producers also take place during the week.
Honorary awards go to actors Menderes Samancılar and Tilbe Saran this year. The awards and closing ceremony will be held on 31 October at the Glass Pyramid (Cam Piramit) in Antalya.
Screenings across Antalya’s districts
Under the "Gezen Sinema" (travelling cinema) programme, screenings are planned over the eight days in 16 districts, including Alanya, Kaş, Kemer, Manavgat, Demre, Finike, Kumluca and Serik. Films include Yavuz Turgul’s 1996 classic *Eşkıya* (The Bandit). Two films are being screened for disabled audiences, and the festival says it is moving from printed to digital materials in line with the COP31 climate conference that Antalya hosts in November.
Foreign residents should check individual screening details, including language and subtitles, before buying tickets. Istanbul’s own autumn festival season continues next month with the Bosphorus Film Festival. For more on the city, see our guide to living in Antalya.
Sources
- Altın Portakal Film Festivali’nde yıldız yağacak! (Türkiye Turizm)
- Altın Portakal Korteji’nde yıldızlar geçidi yaşanacak (Mega TV)
- 63’üncü Altın Portakal ‘Daima’ sloganıyla başlıyor (DHA)
- 63. Altın Portakal Film Festivali başlıyor: İşte bilmeniz gerekenler (Medyascope)
Photo: Jake Hills / Unsplash License, via Unsplash
