Warsaw Becomes Motherland | Anayurdu

Mavi Boncuk | Awards at the 31st Warsaw Film Festival 10/17/2015 On Saturday evening, October 17, at Multikino, juries announced the winners of the 31st WFF

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

The Jury members: Elena Fanailova (Russia), Uljana Kim (Lithuania), Sławomir Fabicki (Poland), Martti Helde (Estonia), Pavle Vučković (Serbia) gave the following awards:

1. Warsaw Grand Prix, the main prize of the International Competition, founded by City of Warsaw : NEON BULL / BOI NEON / NEONOWY BYK, dir. Gabriel Mascaro (Brazil, Uruguay, Netherlands);

The Warsaw Grand Prix goes to a beautiful and honest film for its genuine and unforgettable imagery and its universal idea, and for shifting the boundaries of gender stereotypes and opening the deep archetypes that live among all of us.

FIPRESCI Award

The Jury FIPRESCI members: Barbara Giza (Poland), Aleksander Huser (Norway), Ohad Landesman (Israel) gave the award for best debut from Eastern Europe to the film

MOTHERLAND / ANA YURDU[1] / KRAJ PRZODKÓW, dir. Senem Tüzen (Turkey, Greece)

The International Critics Prize goes to a rich and thought provoking film that in a simple but effective way depicts the intense conflict of a woman struggling to find her current position between tradition and modernity.

NETPAC Award

The NETPAC Jury members: Defne Gürsoy (Turkey), Latika  Padgaonkar (India), Paulina Kwiatkowska (Poland) gave the award for the best Asian film to:

MOTHERLAND / ANA YURDU[1] / KRAJ PRZODKÓW, dir. Senem Tüzen (Turkey, Greece)

A finely crafted debut film, combining a dense script with powerful images that evoke tensions both between and within characters.
See also: 

Motherland by Senem Tüzen in La Biennale

[1] Motherland

Nesrin is recovering from a divorce. She leaves Istanbul and goes to the country house of her deceased grandmother. It is the start of a new life, and a return to childhood dreams. She has always wanted to be a writer and now is her chance. Unfortunately her writing stalls when her mother comes to visit and won't leave her alone. The two women have grown apart over the years and now have to confront their stormy emotions. Trapped between love and hatred for her mother, Nesrin quickly loses any delusions about a peaceful country life. Is there room for forgiveness in the clash between modernity and conservatism?
A touching film about a difficult and neglected mother-daughter relationship.

Senem Tüzen

Turkish filmmaker. Born in Ankara in 1980. She holds a degree in cinema from the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts Academy of Istanbul. Her short films 'Milk and Chocolate' and 'Unus Mundus' were both nominated in 2009 for the Turkish film critics' association award ('Unus Mundus' won Best Short Film). She has also worked as an editor, cinematographer and producer on short, feature and documentary films. 'Motherland', her first full-length film, premiered in the Critics' Week section of the 2015 Venice festival.
Festival also presented
And The Circus Leaves Town Dir: Mete Sözer|Turkey


In a forgotten and rundown village caught in between life and death, only a handful of people are left. New people have not come since a long time ago, all the young people have left. One day a mysterious stranger arrives in the village. He gets off the train, wearing red and carrying a small red suitcase. He is the first visitor in a long, long time. His arrival makes the village spring to life and will be widely commented on. Initial surprise slowly gives way to suspicion. Soon some deeply hidden and dark memories will surface, regarding a certain bloody wedding night. Did the stranger have anything to do with it? Will he bring pain or new hope?

Mete Sözer


Turkish director, writer and producer. Born in Istanbul in 1971, he initially trained as an architect in Zurich, Switzerland and UCLA in Los Angeles, California. After practicing and teaching architecture for 15 years he went back to school to study filmmaking. His short films and music videos he directed have received over 30 awards and accolades internationally. In 2015 he directed his first feature film 'And The Circus Leaves Town', which he also wrote and produced.