Uzbek director bags 1st prize in documentary fest

By Ayse Busra Erkec

ISTANBUL

Uzbek director Ali Hamratev received the first prize on Sunday in the professional directors category of the 3rd Turkish World Documentary Film Festival for “Seni Unutmadim” (I Did Not Forget You) in Istanbul.

Organized by the Journalists Association of the Turkish World, the festival hosted 140 documentaries from eight countries and 28 regions.

Didem Sahin from Iraq was awarded second place in the same category "Men Turkmenem Men Begem". Turkey's Kaan Atilla came third for "Karadeniz’in Yalniz Nineleri" (The Black Sea’s Lonely Grandmothers).

In the students category, Batuhan Kurt came in first for "Kurbaga Avcilari" (Frog Hunters) followed by Turan Kubulay with “Saksak: Bir Tutun Belgeseli” (Saksak: a Documentary on Tobacco) and Kyrgyz Cibek Abdullabaeva with “Kadin Dunyasi” (World of Women).

Alihan Erbas and Harun Koybasi won the “Turkish Council Silk Road Special Award” for “Sen Adam misin” (Are You a Man) and Tilek Murataliev the “Turkish Culture and Jury Special Award” for “1916 Milli Mucadelesi” (The National Struggle of 1916) from Kyrgyzstan.

Also, Naijiba Abbasova’s “2 Dil 1 Armoni” (Two Languages one Harmony) from Azerbaijan won the “Turkish World Cengiz Aytmatov Special Award” with famous Turkish actor Serdar Gokhan receiving the “Turkish World Documentary Film Festival Lifelong Honor Award”.