Dance directorial debut kicks off Istanbul Festival

Actor Charles Dance is among the celebrities attending the Istanbul Film Festival. He attended the opening ceremony to present his film “Ladies in Lavender”, his first attempt at directing.

A screening of the film formally kicked off the festival. It stars Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith as two spinsters in a post-Second World War British fishing village who take in a mysterious young Polish man they find half-drowned on a beach.

“It is my first film as a director and I hope it is not my last,” Dance said.

Italian film legend Sophia Loren received a lifetime achievement award at today’s opening, and said the trophy would take pride of place next to her Oscars.

Loren, who won best actress Oscar in 1961 for “Two Women” and an Oscar for career achievement in 1991, was guest of honour at the festival, which ends on April 17.

“Ever since her gazelle-like eyes appeared on screen, she has enchanted anyone gazing at them,” presenter Ceyda Duvenci said of the Italian star.

“I feel surrounded by love,” said Loren, who was dressed in a black, long-sleeved gown.

The festival’s other celebrity guests include director Jane Campion, who will head the jury.

Nedim Otyam who composed music for more than 100 Turkish films, acclaimed director Yavuz Turgul and actor Tarik Akan – a 70’s film heart-throb who later turned to films with a political tinge – also received “honour” awards for their contribution to Turkish cinema.

Thirteen international films – with themes on arts or artists or which are literary adaptations – are competing for the festival’s Golden Tulip Award.

They include “Beyond the Sea” in which Kevin Spacey directed himself as 1950s crooner Bobby Darin, “Untold Scandal” – a Korean version of the novel “Les Liasons Dangereuses”, and Turkish film “Yolda” inspired by a journey director Erden Kiral made with his mentor, Yilmaz Guney, when the late film director was being transferred from one prison to another during military rule.

Nine Turkish films will be competing for an award in the national film category.