Prima Ballerina Meriç Documentary Meets Audience at Golden Orange

The documentary "Prima Ballerina Meriç", which focuses on the life of Meriç Sümen, one of the leading figures in Turkish ballet history, and her return to the stage years later, meets the audience in the National Documentary Film Competition of the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.

Meriç Sümen, the first foreign prima ballerina to dance a lead role at the Bolshoi Ballet, the first and only artist to receive the title of State Artist of the Republic of Turkey, and the first woman to serve as the General Directorate of State Opera and Ballet, had retired in 2007. After a break of approximately 18 years, the master artist returned to the stage in November 2025 at the age of 82 with the Swan Lake ballet, this time in the role of the queen.

Directed by Deniz Gürgen Atalay, the documentary "Prima Ballerina Meriç" covers this story of return and Sümen's artistic life. During the film's research process, the artist's personal archive and the work titled "A Swan in Love with Dance: Meriç Sümen" by Nevsâl Baylas, published by Yapı Kredi Publications, were utilized; furthermore, rehearsals and performances of Swan Lake staged by the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet were followed.