Türkiye to promote ancient city Gordion through Archaeofilm Festival
Gordion Ancient City, home to pyramids of Anatolia and capital, Ankara, Türkiye, September 22, 2023 (IHA Photo)
Ankara will be the stage for the world’s first Gordion Archaeofilm Festival this year. The event aims to spotlight the ancient city of Gordion, which was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2023.
Scheduled for Sept. 26-29, the festival is a collaborative effort between the Gordion Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s General Directorate of Cinema, the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Ankara Development Agency, and Polatli Municipality.
Participants from 87 countries, including Türkiye, France, U.S., Iran, and India, will join the festival with 827 films.
Documentaries exploring archaeology and cultural heritage will compete in “professional” and “student” categories. The top seven films in each category will be screened during the festival in Ankara, Polatli, and the ancient city of Yassihoyuk.
Kadim Koc, chairman of the Board of the Gordion Foundation, stated that they aim to make the event traditional. He also mentioned that the festival will feature events such as a Phrygian music concert, the King Midas Ceramic Exhibition, theater and puppet shows.
Koc said, “With the Gordion Archaeofilm Festival, we aim to bring together cinema enthusiasts and archaeology lovers, raise awareness about the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, and discover young talents.”
Festival Coordinator Kadir Uluc expressed enthusiasm about the overwhelming interest in the inaugural event, despite being held for the first time. He emphasized the organizers’ ambition to establish the Gordion Archaeofilm Festival as a prominent international platform.
The event will be held with contributions from Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Hacettepe University, Polatli District Governorate, Cankaya Municipality, Turkish Airlines, and the Ankara City Council.
The Gordion Ancient City was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on Sept. 19, 2023, during the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Located in the Yassihoyuk neighborhood, Gordion was registered as Ankara’s first and Türkiye’s 20th UNESCO World Heritage site.
