Golden Orange Film Festival returns with global premieres, Palestine-focused selection

The 62nd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival will take place from October 24 to November 2, 2025, presenting a rich lineup of international premieres, social narratives, and children’s films.

Organized by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality with support from Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the festival continues its legacy as one of the country’s most prestigious cinema events.

Ten films to compete for the Golden Orange Award

This year’s International Feature Film Competition will feature ten films from across the world competing for awards in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Actor.

The selection brings together productions from the United States, Germany, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Czechia, France, Iran, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Colombia, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, and Türkiye. All ten films will have their Turkish premieres at the festival.

The lineup includes:

• “Mad Bills to Pay,” directed by Joel Alfonso Vargas, exploring class struggle, coming of age, and family dynamics.
• “Urchin,” by Harris Dickinson, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes and won the FIPRESCI Award, following a homeless man’s life on the streets of London.
• “Adam’s Sake,” directed by Laura Wandel, a mother–child drama that examines institutional empathy and judgment, first shown in La Semaine de la Critique at Cannes.
• “A Poet,” by Simon Mesa Soto, portraying the life of a quiet poet in Medellin, premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2025.
• “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” written and directed by Mary Bronstein, a psychological dark comedy that made its debut at Sundance 2025.
• “Confidante,” directed by Cagla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti, starring Saadet Isil Aksoy, a co-production between Türkiye, France, and Luxembourg. The film tells the story of a woman working on 900 hotlines in the 1990s whose life changes after a mysterious call.
• “Mother’s Baby,” the fourth feature by Johanna Moder, about a 40-year-old orchestra conductor confronting her personal and professional limits.
• “The Currents,” directed by Milagros Mumenthaler, depicting the inner life of a successful Argentine artist named Lina.
• “Divine Comedy,” directed by Ali Asgari, which premiered in Venice’s Orizzonti section, following a filmmaker’s struggle against censorship while finishing his last work.
• “Otec (Father),” directed by Tereza Nvotova, a Slovak family drama and the country’s Oscar entry, portraying the lives of Michal, Zuzana, and their daughter Dominika.

Winners will be announced during an award ceremony on November 1, 2025.

'From Borders to Limitlessness': Selection dedicated to Palestine

A special section titled “From Borders to Limitlessness” will bring together five films that reflect on human resilience and displacement through the lens of Middle Eastern and North African filmmakers.

This year, the selection focuses on Palestine, offering a cinematic response to loss, resistance, and collective memory.

The lineup includes:

• “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk,” directed by Sepideh Farsi, depicting life under Israeli military occupation in Gaza.
• “A Sad and Beautiful World,” by Cyril Aris, set in Beirut and telling a thirty-year love story intertwined with grief and hope. The film had its world premiere at Venice’s Giornate degli Autori section and will be shown in Türkiye for the first time.
• “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice after premiering in the festival’s main competition. The film gives voice to Hind, a five-year-old girl killed in Gaza, turning her memory into a symbol of silenced innocence.
• “Promised Sky,” directed by Erige Sehiri, portraying three women who migrate from Cote d’Ivoire to Tunisia in search of a better life. The film was nominated for several awards in Cannes’s Un Certain Regard section.
• “All That’s Left of You,” directed by Cherien Dabis, a multigenerational Palestinian family saga exploring collective trauma and inherited memory. After its premiere at Sundance 2025 and its Best International Feature win at the Sydney Film Festival, it was screened out of competition at Cannes and will have its Türkiye premiere in Antalya.

Festival organizers described the program as an invitation to “witness the pain of Palestine through the language of art,” reaffirming Antalya’s role as a meeting point for politically conscious cinema.

Golden Orange's new program for young audiences

For the first time, the Golden Orange will host a children’s film program, screening at 10:30 a.m. daily throughout the festival.

The initiative aims to introduce young audiences in Antalya to international cinema through fun and thought-provoking stories.

Seven films were selected for the children’s program:

• “Mustafa Kemal,” about a group of friends traveling through time to witness Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s journey from his military school years in Thessaloniki to the Italo-Turkish War.
• “Buffalo Kids,” following two siblings who recently migrated from Ireland to New York as they navigate the city’s bustling streets.
• “Les As de la Jungle 2” (The Jungle Bunch: World Tour), a French animation about a team of animals saving a forest from danger.
• “Zak & Wowo, la legende de Lendarys” (Twin Team), the adventure of Zak searching for his missing twin brother.
• “Arco,” the story of a 10-year-old from a peaceful future who accidentally travels back to 2075 and discovers a dangerous world, screening in Türkiye for the first time.

Two short documentaries will also be shown for children: “HOP Hayal Gucu Oyun Parki” (HOP Imagination Playground), about volunteers building play areas in earthquake-hit Hatay, and “Hayatin Cizgisi” (Line of Life), which follows young surfers in Samandag rebuilding their lives after the disaster.

Since its founding in 1964, the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival has served as Türkiye’s most internationally recognized film event, bridging regional cinema with global audiences. The 62nd edition promises to uphold that legacy, combining artistic excellence with humanitarian storytelling.

The festival’s international competition, Palestine-themed selection, and new children’s section reflect a wider cinematic landscape—one that seeks to engage with both contemporary realities and universal human experiences.

October 17, 2025 04:47 AM GMT+03:00