Film festival honours Ken Russell

British film director Ken Russell today received the annual Istanbul film festival’s special honour award.

The festival’s award for best international film went to Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Lian for Goodbye, Dragon Inn, while Turkish director Ahmet Ulucay grabbed the Golden Tulip in the best Turkish movie category for Boats out of Watermelon Rinds.

The festival honoured Russell in the Tribute to the Masters category, saying he was responsible for some of the best films of the 20th century.

It said his 1969 film Women in Love was a milestone in cinema. Six of Russell’s films, including Women in Love, Tommy and Valentino were screened during the festival.

“I am delighted to here on two counts,” said the 76-year old British director wearing a sparkly shirt and jacket as he accepted the prize.

“It is a great honour to be receiving an award from the most swinging film festival, and, this is the greatest swing band on the planet,” he said pointing to the musicians as he danced on stage.

Festival winner Goodbye, Dragon Inn tells the story of the last screening of the 1966 martial arts classic Dragon Inn at an old movie theatre before it closes down.

Ulucay’s Boats out of Watermelon Rinds is an autobiographic story about two village boys’ passion for movies and their dream of making films.

The lifetime achievement honour went to 66-year-old Iranian director and writer Bahram Bayzai, whose works include Travellers” and Maybe Some Other Time.

Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche and Dusan Kovacevic of Serbia and Montenegro shared the special jury award for their films L’esquive and The Professional, respectively.

Best director in the Turkish film category went to Zeki Demirkubuz for The Waiting Room.

Yesim Ustaoglu won a special prize in the national film category for Waiting for the Clouds.