(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Ghosts, the debut feature of Turkish helmer Azra Deniz Okyay supported by Doha Film Institute (DFI), nabbed the Grand Prize at the 35th edition of Venice International Film Critics' Week.
DFI congratulated the director for winning the coveted prize in a Twitter post on Saturday which marked the conclusion of the 77th Venice International Film Festival.
The Venice Critics' Week is an independent and parallel section of the film festival organised by the Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) which includes seven debut films in competition and two out of competition events.
A roaring tale of the contemporary generation, ‘Ghosts' follows four characters from very different walks of life, who cross paths through a web of drug trafficking in Istanbul. It was the first Turkish film since 2018 to feature in the Venice programme. It is a recipient of DFI's grants programme whose aim is to provide development, production and post-production funding to filmmakers from Qatar, and first- and second-time filmmakers from around the world.
Born in Istanbul, Okyay started photography at the age of 12, and became an assistant at 14 of the photographer Dora Gunel. She studied cinema in Paris and obtained bachelor's and master's degrees. She has made various shorts and music videos, and her work has appeared in international exhibitions and galleries.
Seven other DFI-backed films took part in this year's unusual but highly successful Venice Film Festival which featured only 60 films. They comprised exciting works from emerging and established filmmakers including six from the Arab world and one from Italy.
Gianfranco Rosi, known for being the only documentary filmmaker to win the Golden Lion in 2013, returned to the festival with his fifth documentary Notturno. The DFI co-financed film was part of the 18 feature films selected for the main competition at the festival.
Gaza Mon Amour by twin brothers Tarzan Abunasser and Arab Abunasser received wide critical acclaim when it world premiered at the festival . It competed in the Orizzonti official section (Horizons) which runs parallel to the main competition.
The 200 Meters by Ameen Nayfeh was part of the parallel programme Venice Days while Meriem Mesraoua's Under Her Skin premiered in the Orizzonti Short Films Competition.
Other DFI-supported films which participated in the festival included Razan AlSalah's experimental VR film The Greatest Wait, Ely Dagher's first feature Harvest, and Salah Al Ashkar's Our Choices.
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