Competition Without Barriers awards were presented to the winners at the Goethe-Institut Ankara on Saturday, October 19.
Film critic Melikşah Altuntaş were the presenter of the Award Ceremony which was accompanied by audio description and sign language translation. During the ceremony, the video documentation of the Mural Ankara event held a week before the Festival and a short documentary film about what happened in the seventh year of the Festival were screened following the opening speech of Altuntaş. Later on, along with the Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Film awards decided by the jury members Yonca Ertürk (producer), Burak Göral (film critic and screenwriter ) and Natali Yeres (art director), the Special Audience Award decided by the votes of the audience were presented to the winners.
Best Screenplay: “Sibel”
Best Screenplay Award was given to Sibel written by Çağla Zencirci, Guillaume Giovanetti and Ramata Sy. Erik Weststrate, the Deputy Ambassador of the Embassy of the Netherlands who presented the award expressed his happiness to be a part of the event as the Netherlands and expressed his support for the Festival, considering that everyone has the right to watch the film. Following his speech, Weststrate delivered the award to Nevin Zencirci, mother of Çağla Zencirci, one of the directors and screenwriters of the film. Nevin Zencirci informed the audience that the directors are sorry for not being available to attend the ceremony and thanked everyone who contributed.
Best Director: “Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun”
The Best Director Award was given to Mahmut Fazıl Çoşkun for his film The Announcement. Saad Bokhari, Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of the United States, presented the award and underlined that the Festival provides an opportunity for everyone who have a fear on disability issues. Bokhari, who announced the Best Director Award at the end of his speech, handed the award to the film's executive producer Sinan Yusufoğlu. Yusufoğlu thanked to the director of the film and said that the Festival contributed him a lot.
Best Film: “The Announcement”
The Best Film Award was also given to the “The Announcement” directed by Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun. The Award was presented by Yonca Ertürk, jury member of Competition Without Barriers. Stating that the Festival was very valuable for her since her first film screened at the Festival, Ertürk delivered the Best Film Award to the leading actor Şencan Güleryüz. In his speech, Güleryüz expressed his gratitude to the jury and the Festival, saying that the film created a great motivation in the recent years of his career.
Special Audience Award: “Sibel”
Special Audience Award, which was determined by the votes of 723 viewers, was given to Sibel directed by Çağla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti. DJ Kendis, who took part in the Festival as the protagonist of a documentary film about her life expressed his happiness to be a guest at the Festival and gave the Special Audience Award to Nevin Zencirci, mother of Çağla Zencirci. The ceremony ended with the screening of 4-minute short film Pip, directed by Bruno Simões.