Mavi Boncuk |Turkish director Alphan Eşeli's debut feature film “Eve Dönüş: Sarıkamış 1915” (The Long Way Home) has brought back two major awards from Canada's Festival des Films du Monde (Montreal World Film Festival), including the prestigious International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) prize in the festival's debut film competition.
The film, which explores the psychologies of a group of Turkish soldiers and civilians trying to survive the harsh conditions after the Battle of Sarıkamış between the Russians and the Ottoman Empire during World War I, was also awarded the Golden Zenith trophy for the best fictional feature film at the festival, which ran from Aug. 22 to Sept. 2.
In accepting the awards, the director said “Eve Dönüş: Sarıkamış 1915” is an anti-war film. Eşeli added that we are surviving a turbulent period, and he hopes there is still hope for peace, in a statement issued by the arts and culture platform ISTANBUL '74 this week.
With Nergis Öztürk and Serdar Orçin in the leading roles, the film hit Turkish movie theaters in March 2013. The screenplay was co-written by the director and Serdar Tantekin.
Other winners of the festival include Polish director Maciej Pieprzyca's “Chce Sie Zyc” (Life Feels Good), which received the Grand prix des Ameriques prize, and Belgian director Jan Verheyen, who took home the best director award for his film “Het Vonnis” (The Verdict).