The winners of the 15th Festival on Wheels have been announced. Among the 10 films competing from 10 countries, Corneliu Porumboiu's latest feature Politist, adj. (Police, Adjective) won both the Golden Bull and the SİYAD (Turkish Film Critics' Association) awards. İki Dil Bir Bavul (On the Way to School), co-directed by Orhan Eskiköy and Özgür Doğan, was named second best film.

The awards ceremony of the 15th Festival on Wheels, an event organized by the Ankara Cinema Association with the support of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, was held on 16 December in Artvin. During the ceremony, which was presented by Ceylan Özçelik in the Ahmet Hamdi Taşpınar Cultural Centre, the winners of the Golden Bull International Film Competition were announced.

Golden Bull goes to Police, Adjective

The competition was hosted by the Governorship of Artvin and the Artvin Muncipality, and featured a jury line-up including Egyptian actress Basma Ahmed Hassan, Israeli film critic Edna Fainaru, Dutch director Ineke Smits, American film critic Jay Weissberg and Turkish director Reha Erdem. The jury named Politist, adj (Police, Adjective) best film on the basis that "the film combined the cinematographic and verbal power of language with subtle intelligence in conveying its message", and awarded Politist, adj the Golden Bull Award, worth 10,000 Euros.

The film was directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, a rising star of Eastern European cinema known in Turkey for his film 12:08 East of Bucharest, and deals with a police officer trapped between motivations of conscience and the responsibilities of his job as he implements the local drugs laws.

On the Way to School also a favourite in Artvin 

The jury gave the Silver Bull Award, a 5000 Euro award for the runner-up film, to On the Way to School, co-directed by Orhan Eskiköy and Özgür Doğan. The decision was a unanimous vote in recognition of the narrative style used to illustrate a cultural reality that exists in contemporary Turkish society, said the jury, which also explained that the film was infused with a great sense of humanity and managed to create an unaffected atmosphere as it presented its serious but also humorous story through the central character of the teacher.  

On the Way to School recounts the experiences of newly graduated Turkish teacher Emre Aydın, who is posted for his first job to a remote Kurdish village. In the film, the only documentary in the competition section, we follow Emre for a year as he copes with the village children, who are new to the classroom and unable to speak Turkish.

SİYAD also shoots for Police, Adjective

The decision of the SİYAD (Turkish Film Critics' Association) jury, made up of Burcu Aykar Şirin, Gözde Onaran and Janet Barış, mirrored that of the main jury. And the SİYAD Prize was awarded to Politist, adj. (Police, Adjective) for "shattering the conventions of the detective genre in its opposition of the straightforward logic and inflexibility of the bureaucracy and the unjustness of the police state, and presenting a viewing experience in which the reward is kept to the end".

Best short of the Festival, Next Floor

Last but not least, the winner of the Short Film Audience Award was also announced during the awards ceremony. Determined by the votes of festival audiences, the 1000 Euro award went to Next Floor, a short film by Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, whose feature Polytechnique has caused controversy at numerous festivals this year, particularly Cannes.

15TH FESTIVAL ON WHEELS - AWARDS

Golden Bull Award (10,000 Euros)

Politist, adj. (Police, Adjective) - Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania

Silver Bull Award (5000 Euros)

İki Dil Bir Bavul (On the Way to School) - Orhan Eskiköy & Özgür Doğan, Turkey

SİYAD (Turkish Film Critics' Association) Award

Politist, adj. (Police, Adjective) - Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania

Short Film Audience Award (1000 Euros)

Next Floor - Denis Villeneuve, Canada

Photos: http://www.eceworx.com/files/asd/basin_dosyasi_09/kapanistoreni.rar