'Tepenin Ardi' tops new film festival in Rotterdam

Young Turkish film director Emin Alper's debut feature, "Tepenin Ardi" (Beyond the Hill), won the top awards of the inaugural Red Tulip Film Festival in Rotterdam over the weekend, Turkish media reported on Monday. "Tepenin Ardi," a critics' favorite for its genre-bending style that blends a Western, a drama and a thriller, was named best film and also earned Alper the best director prize at the festival's award ceremony, held on Saturday evening, the Radikal daily reported. It was one of 26 Turkish films shown at the Red Tulip Film Festival, which ran from June 5-9. Other critically acclaimed films in the festival's feature film competition included Reis Celik's tragic account of a child bride, "Lal Gece" (Night of Silence); Dervis Zaim's docudrama that tells of the connection between nature and man, "Devir" (The Cycle); and Pelin Esmer's story of a young man haunted by his past, "Gozetleme Kulesi" (Watchtower). Veteran director Erden Kiral's most recent effort, "Yuk" (Load), was the opening film of the festival, a joint effort between the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Cultural Foundation Netherlands Turkey. Coming around a year after Turkey and the Netherlands marked the 400th anniversary of their diplomatic ties with a packed program of cultural events, the Red Tulip Film Festival is aimed at fostering cultural ties between the two countries even further.