The Antalya Film Forum will be organized to take place during the 54th International Antalya Film Festival this year from Oct. 21 to Oct. 27.
The forum's director, Zeynep Atakan, underlined that the main aim of the forum is to support, motivate, encourage and restore the confidence of makers of short films and new movie makers.
For the past four years, the European Film Academy has been organizing a Young Viewer's Award at the festival. At the press conference, Atakan said that she is pleased to work with young people and advised that young movie makers who want to shoot short or feature-length movies should not be shy.
"You need to present what you have produced and created. You have a tough journey ahead of you. This is why we believe the Antalya Film Forum will support them. This is what I am interested in the most. I advise young people to follow the festival," Atakan said.
Atakan said that many innovations have taken place and young people need to strive, never give up, be patient and never stop learning.
To show why young people have to be patient as it takes time to become known and reputable in the sector, she also added that she has been in the cinema business for a long time, 26 years to be exact, yet, her name is only in recent years becoming well known.
Atakan also thanked movie maker Mike Downey, the artistic director for the festival, and advisor Mirsad Purivatra for all their effort, adding that they are striving to motivate young people to become involved in cinema. "I also have children and now it's easy for children to watch movies. We had to follow festivals and run to the movie theaters in my youth, but now, movies are a click away," Atakan said. However, she added that what is usually being disregarded is the fact that it is not only important to access the content but that the experience is one they enjoy.
