190 films to be screened at Golden Boll Film Festival

ADANA

The 32nd International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival will bring 190 films to audiences in 400 screenings between Sept. 22 and 28 under the motto “Cinema is peace, freedom and hope,” organizers have announced.

Mahmut Göğebakan, the Adana Metropolitan Municipality’s head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department, said the festival will host around 600 local and international guests this year.

“Last year, open-air screenings drew nearly 120,000 people, while 40,000 attended indoor showings. This year, our goal is to reach 150,000 viewers at open-air screenings, in addition to 40,000 at cinemas,” Göğebakan told Anadolu Agency.

Highlighting that the budget previously allocated to hotel receptions and cocktails was redirected to film programming, he said, “This decision allowed more people in Adana to engage with cinema.”

Ten documentaries will compete in the National Documentary Film Competition, seven of which will make their world premiere. The Literary Adaptation Feature Screenplay Competition, launched in recent years, received 27 submissions this year, with five reaching the finals.

The world cinema section will feature significant selections from countries ranging from Palestine to Brazil.

Festival Director Hüseyin Orhan said preparations were complete and noted that this year’s prize pool had been increased.

“The Golden Boll Film Festival will distribute a total of 5.2 million liras in awards. The best film award alone will grant 2.5 million Turkish Liras, with the rest shared among other categories,” he said.

Orhan underlined that sustainability and the climate crisis have become central to the festival. As part of this year’s efforts, 5,000 saplings will be planted for students from disadvantaged areas who will be introduced to cinema through the festival. He also noted that all festival materials are recyclable.

Addressing recent humanitarian crises, Orhan stressed the festival’s commitment to amplifying voices for peace.

“Cinema has always reflected the times. We want to use its power to highlight the value of peace and freedom and to open doors to dialogue between cultures,” he said.

“In our world cinema section, we will present a special selection titled ‘Gaza, Now!’ as a cry from Adana’s fertile lands to the world. We want the tragedy in Gaza to end. Through cinema, we raise our voice against this ongoing humanitarian drama.”