Derviş Zaim will chair the COP31 climate short film jury in Antalya
Director Derviş Zaim will lead the jury for the COP31 Climate Short Film Competition in Antalya. Actors Perihan Savaş and Fikret Kuşkan, cinematographer Feza Çaldıran and Palestinian director Darin J. Sallam complete the panel. Ten shortlisted films will compete, with awards scheduled for 14 November as part of the climate conference’s cultural programme.
Arts··Midday
Derviş Zaim heads a five-member panel
Turkey’s Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has announced the jury for the COP31 Climate Short Film Competition. Director Derviş Zaim will chair the panel. Actors Perihan Savaş and Fikret Kuşkan, cinematographer Feza Çaldıran and Palestinian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam will serve alongside him. Sallam is known internationally for Farha. The panel brings directors, performers and a cinematographer into the judging of the shortlisted films. The competition is being organized by the ministry together with COP31 Türkiye under the theme Our Common Home, the World. Its stated aim is to draw attention to climate change and environmental problems through cinema.[1], [2]
Ten finalists compete for the announced awards
The ministry said hundreds of applications had arrived from different countries. Directors Mustafa Gürbüz, Merve Kuş Mataracı and Ömer Dişbudak formed the preliminary jury that selected ten shorts for the final round. The announced awards allocate 5,000 euros to first place, 3,000 euros to second and 2,000 euros to third. The jury will also choose a film for a special prize of 1,000 euros. Six other finalists that earn screening rights but do not receive a prize will each be paid 500 euros in screening royalties. The final selection therefore includes both the films competing for ranked prizes and those eligible for screening payments.[1]
Turtle-shaped trophies await the Antalya ceremony
The ceremony is scheduled for 14 November at the Antalya COP31 event site in Turkey. It falls within the 9–20 November 31st conference of parties to the United Nations climate convention, for which COP31 is the abbreviated name. The awards have been designed as loggerhead turtles, using industrial waste mounted on rotating metal bases. According to the ministry, the design refers to the climate crisis’s effects on marine life and other animals. The resulting trophies are intended for representatives of the prizewinning films as well as recipients of honorary awards at the ceremony.[1]
