Turkish movie 'Batlir' gets award in San Diego festival

By Musa Alcan

ISTANBUL

Turkish movie Batlir was chosen for Chris Brinker Award in 2018 San Diego International Film Festival.

The film, which focuses on a character that has a big head since birth, was directed by Stare Yildirim -- who accepted the award at the ceremony.

The movie description on the festivals website reads: "Hello, my name is Batlir, not Butler. I’m not actually overweight, I just have some excess in a certain area. It is told in Anatolia that, the baby looks like whatever the mother craves for while she is pregnant." 

The film was also awarded in two other film festivals in 2018, the "Flathead Lake Film Festival" and the "Julien Dubuque International Film Festival."

The Chris Brinker is given to the films' directors who made their debut in the international arena.

Batlir's cast includes Can Sipahi, Yilmaz Gruda, Merve Dizdar, Yagizkan Dikmen, Selen Kurtaran, Sinan Caliskanoglu and Erkan Tasdogen.

San Diego International Film Festival, in its 17th year, continues to celebrate the year's best movies from emerging filmmakers from around the world.

The festival is held between Oct. 10-14 this year.