Los Angeles Turkish Film Festival Kicks Off Thursday, March 1

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Radio host and film critic, Elvis Mitchell; Barbara Boyle, Head of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Film and TV Department and Kathy Evelyn Smith, Head of the University of Southern California (USC) Film School's Animation and Digital Arts Department will select the winner of the short film competition at the First Los Angeles Turkish Film Festival. The festival will run March 1st to 4th at the Egyptian Theater and features award-winning films, Q&As and panel discussions, and a red carpet and awards ceremony.

Completing the jury are Alin Tasciyan, film critic and vice president of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and Dervis Zaim, one of Turkey's most acclaimed new directors, whose film, "Shadows and Faces" will open LATFF.

"I am thrilled to have such a prominent group of judges at our first festival," said Cenk Erturk, Director of LATFF. "We received more than 200 entries from Turkish filmmakers and we will present the ten strongest finalists."

The shorts will be screened on Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3. Their subjects range from romantic and family love to hard-hitting topics like domestic violence, war and suicide bombings. The competition winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on Sunday, March 4.

The ten finalists are "Journal" by Abdulbaki Yavuz, "Scarecrow" by Adem Demirci, "Love is Blind" by Ertug Tufekcioglu, "The Beginning" by Yigit Evgar, "The Monster Toros" by Firat Yavuz, "Four Walls Sarajevo" by Nadim Guc, "The Bus" by Olgu Baran Kubilay, "Ali Ata Bak" by Orhan Ince, "Milk" by Aysegul Sahinbozkir and "Off the Record" by Tufan Simsekcan.

"There is a reason why most of the films in the world are made in Hollywood," said director Kubilay who arrived from Turkey for the festival. "Showing my film to an audience in the capital of filmmaking is the most exciting and helpful thing I can imagine."

"I am incredibly excited," added Boyle who is also a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. "I am really looking forward to seeing and hearing these new voices."

The festival will also present five award-winning features by Turkey's top filmmakers. For information and tickets visit www.latff.org, email [email protected] or call (310) 866 8406.

SOURCE Los Angeles Turkish Film Festival