‘Anatolian Leopard’ granted FIPRESCI Prize at Toronto Film Festival
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The movie "Anatolian Leopard" directed by Emre Kayış has been granted the FIPRESCI Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
The first feature of Kayış, the movie debuted in the Discovery section of the TIFF and its cast consists of Uğur Polat, Ipek Türktan, Tansu Biçer, Seyithan Özdemir, Ege Aydan and Nuri Gökasan. In a statement on the TIFF Twitter account, Kayış has expressed his thanks for the award.
Directed by Kayış, the movie "Anatolian Leopard" will also compete at the 58th Antalya Golden Orange Awards on October 2-9, 2021.
The storyline of the movie is as follows:
"Fikret (Uğur Polat) is a melancholic divorcé who leads a lonely life. Dedicated to his work of 22 years, he is the director of Turkey's oldest zoo in the historical yet somnolent capital of Ankara.
"Like much of the country, the institution is undergoing a process of privatization, but one obstacle stands in the way: its oldest inhabitant, the Anatolian leopard, an endangered species indigenous to the region and protected by law. Though boiling on the inside, Fikret keeps his brewing discontent at the sweeping conservative reforms bottled.
"On New Year's Eve, tipsy and bored, he finds himself paying a visit to the leopard, though he soon realizes his old friend is bereft of life. Determined to hide the inconvenient truth, Fikret and his assistant Gamze (Ipek Türktan) conspire to fake the leopard's escape, setting in motion an absurd charade that inevitably turns the ensuing capture attempt into a three-ring circus while rousing Fikret's long-buried idealism."
Highlights from the TIFF Awards:
People's Choice Award: Belfast, dir. Kenneth Branangh
People's Choice Documentary Award: The Rescue, dirs. E. Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin
People's Choice Midnight Madness Award: Titane, dir. Julia Ducournau
2021 Platform Prize Recipient: Yuni, dir. Kamila Andini
2021 FIPRESCI Prize Recipient: Anatolian Leopard, dir. Emre Kayış
2021 NETPAC Award Winner: Costa Brava, Lebanon, dir. Mounia Akl
(AÖ/SD)