Marve Dizdar, winner of the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, returned to Turkey the day before yesterday, and was met with either cheering from fans or harsh criticism, highlighting the intense polarization in the country.
Dizdar, who delivered an emotional speech on women’s struggle in Turkey upon receiving her award at Cannes last Saturday, arrived in Istanbul just in time to cast her vote in the presidential run-off between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
“I am very touched by the support I see here,” Dizdar told Reuters after casting her vote at a school in Istanbul. I am very happy to bring such an award to my country… Very happy to share this with all my sisters.”
Dizdar won the Best Actress Award for her role in the movie “On Dry Grass”, in which she played the role of a teacher in a remote village.
In her speech at Cannes, Dizdar said she did not need to rehearse the role of teacher, because she had known “by heart since birth” how these women felt. The speech sparked dismissive reactions from Erdogan’s allies and Turkish officials, who considered it distorting the image of their country.
