Initiated by the
Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) as a film week in 1982, the
Istanbul Film Festival has since become the most extensive film event in Turkey. The festival prepares to leave its mark on the city one more time this year as it celebrates its
35th edition, between
7 and 17 April, with the support of Akbank for the 12th time.
The Istanbul Film Festival presents a rich programme in its 35th edition as ever, ranging from the latest productions of world cinema to cult films, to the latest Turkish films and the classics, new discoveries, masterpieces, and hidden treasures. The festival hosts 187 feature films, as well as 10 short and 24 experimental films, in 25 different categories and in addition to the screening of a total of 221 films by 223 directors from 62 countries, there will be talks with guest filmmakers, panel discussions, concerts, and other special events.
Interruption by Yorgos Zois
In the International Competition section of the Istanbul Film Festival, 15 films from 14 countries, under the “New Perspectives in Cinema” theme will vie for the Golden Tulip.
The jury of the
International Golden Tulip Competition, presided by Pablo Trapero, comprises actress
Melisa Sözen, actor Lior Ashkenazy, video artist Ali Kazma, and producer Ewa Puszczyńska.
Ember by Zeki Demirkubuz
The International Competition Golden Tulip Award, presented in memory of Şakir Eczacıbaşı, will be supported with a 25,000 Euro monetary award given by the Eczacıbaşı Group. The director of the Best Film will be awarded with 10,000 Euro, the distribution company of the film in Turkey will be awarded 10,000 Euro, and the director of the film to receive the Special Jury Prize will be awarded 5,000 Euro.
Balkan Films in the International Golden Tulip Competition
Thirst by Svetla Tsotsorkova
The Film Award of the Council of Europe (FACE) for the section
Human Rights in Cinema is being presented only at the Istanbul Film Festival for 10 years. The
FACE Award supported by the Council of Europe and its coproduction fund
Eurimages comprises
10,000 Euros monetary prize and a statuette.
The FACE Award Jury comprises author, actor and screenwriter
Ercan Kesal, director Jakob Brossmann, European Film Fund Eurimages Deputy Executive Director Isabel Castro, and Leyla Kayacık who is the Senior Adviser at the Private Office of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Deputy Secretary General on matters related to Human Rights and Supremacy of Law.
Balkan Films in Human Rights in Cinema Competition
The Magic Mountain by Anca Damian
10 films that were completed in the 2015-16 season will be vying for the
Golden Tulip in the National Competition of the festival, while raising the occasion to three Turkey and four world premieres.
The National Competition Jury will be headed by actress
Müjde Ar, with actor
Tansu Biçer, actress Niki Karimi, director
Ben Hopkins, journalist and writer Murat Uyurkulak, and distributor Torsten Frehse as its members.
Best Film in the
National Competition selected by the jury will be awarded with the
Golden Tulip and
150,000 TL, and the Best Director will be awarded with
Golden Tulip and
50,000 TL. Best Actress and Best Actor will be awarded with
10,000 TL each. The Istanbul Film Festival National Golden Tulip Competition Jury will also give the Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Music awards. Producer of the film awarded with the Special Jury Award in memory of
Onat Kutlar will be given
60,000 TL by Anadolu Efes.
National Golden Tulip Competition films
Rauf by Baris Kaya and Soner Caner
The Istanbul Film Festival, will be awarding a
Best Documentary Award, in order to support documentary film-makers and documentary film production in Turkey, and
10,000 TL with the support of 5. Kat Restaurant.
The National Documentary Competition jury consists of documentarians Emel Çelebi, Güliz Sağlam, and Carlos Hagerman. 7 world premieres and 3 Turkey premieres will be held within the Istanbul Film Festival
National Documentary Competition.
National Documentary Competition films
Attention! by Onur Bakır & Panagiotis Charamis
The Children of Rafet by Mümin Barış & Reşit Ballıkaya
The Others by Ayşe Polat
Ballad of Exiles Yılmaz Güney by İlker Savaşkurt
Holy Camel! : A True Love Story by Sibel Mary Şamlı
Dark Atlas by Umut Vedat
Young Wrestlers by Mete Gumurhan
The Istanbul Film Festival presents the
Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Award in memoriam director and producer
Seyfi Teoman, who passed away in 2012. Director of the film awarded with the
Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Award will be presented
30,000 TL by CMYLMZ Fikirsanat. All the debut feature fiction films from Turkey in the
International Golden Tulip Competition, Human Rights in Cinema and the Turkish Cinema (National Golden Tulip Competition, “Out of Competition” and “New Turkish Cinema”) sections are eligible for the prize.
Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Award jury consists of scriptwriter and director
Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun, distributor Ioanna Stais, and actor
Ahmet Rıfat Şungar.
With a view to drawing attention to gender inequality, the Council of Europe’s co-production fund,
Eurimages, has introduced an annual award of 30,000 euros to be conferred on a woman director for her to use on her next project.
The Audentia Award will be given for the first time in the world at the 35th Istanbul Film Festival, where the films of
15 women directors in the festival programme will be competing for the award. Named after the Latin word for courage and bravery,
the “Audentia” award intends to give greater visibility to women directors in order to encourage other women to follow in their footsteps.
The first Audentia jury consists of director
Yeşim Ustaoğlu, director
Angelos Frantzis and Sanja Ravlic. The patroness for the first edition of the prize will be Anna Serner (CEO of the Swedish Film Institute), who was chosen for her outstanding courage and commitment to advancing the cause of gender equality in the film industry.
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) will give the
FIPRESCI Award to one film from the International Competition, one film from the National Competition, and one film from the National Short Film Competition.
The FIPRESCI jury will be headed by Chris Fujiwara from USA, and will have Harri Römpötti from Finland, Patrizia Pistagnesi from Italy, Viera Langerova from Slovakia, Senem Erdine and Ali Deniz Şensöz from Turkey.
cineuropa.org Award, will be presented to a film that besides having indisputable artistic qualities also brings out the idea of dialogue and integration.
cineuropa.org Award will be presented to a film in the
National Golden Tulip Competition section of the 35th Istanbul Film Festival and selected by film critic Vladan Petkovic.
The Cinema Honorary Awards of the Istanbul Film Festival, bestowed on distinguished figures of Turkish cinema who have put their lives and hearts into cinema, will be presented to five artists this year: Yeşilçam’s “most beloved femme fatale” character, Suzan Avcı; one of Yeşilçam’s most prolific directors with over 200 films to his credit, Ülkü Erakalın; producer of numerous major features, including Vurun Kahpeye and Vesikalı Yarim, Şeref Gür; character actress Perran Kutman who has made generations of audiences laugh throughout her career spanning 50 years; actress and voice actress Jeyan Ayral Tözüm who has been the voices of some of the greatest Yeşilçam stars through her career of more than 60 years.
