THE 37TH ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVAL TO KICK OFF ON 6 APRIL
Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), and sponsored by Vodafone Red, Turkey’s biggest international cinema eventIstanbul Film Festival is preparing to meet cinema lovers for the 37th time. The 37th Istanbul Film Festival, with a programme comprising highlights from Turkey and world cinema will take place between 6 and 17 April.
The Istanbul Film Festival presents a rich programme in its 37th edition that ranges from the latest productions of world cinema to cult films, to the latest titles from Turkey and classics alike, new discoveries, masterpieces, and hidden treasures. The festival hosts 198 feature films, as well as 12 short films, in 18 different categories, and in addition to the screening of a total of 210 films by 218 directors from 43 countries, there will be Q&As and festivaltalks with guest filmmakers, concerts, and other special events.
The 37th Istanbul Film Festival Press Conference
The press conference of the 37th Istanbul Film Festival was held on Wednesday, 14 March at The Marmara Hotel Taksim, the Official Hotel Sponsor of İKSV.
In his opening speech, İKSV General Director Görgün Taner said: “The Istanbul Film Festival is an event that is unified with its audience and the city, with significant contributions to the nurturing of a generation of filmmakers and film audience. We believe the meticulously curated sections and sophisticated selection of the festival will expand the intellectual horizons of many more filmmakers and film lovers. We would like to thank all our sponsors and supporters, especially the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, for their contributions and this year’s Festival Sponsor, Vodafone Red. We would also like to thank our valuable press members for their efforts in the announcement of our festival.”
Speaking for Vodafone Red, the sponsor of 37th Istanbul Film Festival, Consumer Business Unit Director of Vodafone Turkey Engin Aksoy said: “As Vodafone Red, we are happy to sponsor Turkey’s most comprehensive and largest film festival, the 37th Istanbul Film Festival. We value digitalisation of the screen arts including cinema. We aim at extending the reach of the Film Festival with our digital setups and means. We will enable the whole nation to monitor most of the festival events through digital media. We will organise a digital cinema session and Virtual Reality previews for the first time in Turkey. We believe that providing cinema lovers with the opportunity to access the festival content also on digital platforms will be exciting.” Speaking after Aksoy, Head of Brand and Marketing Strategy of Vodafone Turkey Ebru Özgüç shared details about the technological innovations that Vodafone Red will bring to the festival.
Istanbul Film Festival Director Kerem Ayan, introducing the 37th edition of the festival and its programme, later unveiled the films to vie in the International Competition, Human Rights in Cinema Competition, National Competition, National Documentary Competition and the National Short Film Competition.
Head of Meetings on the Bridge, Gülin Üstün, revealed further information about the 13th edition of the Meetings on the Bridge, the co-production platform of the Istanbul Film Festival, which brings filmmakers, directors and scriptwriters from Turkey and the neighbouring countries together with professionals from the international film industry.
The technological innovations of 37th Istanbul Film Festival
The collaboration of the Istanbul Film Festival and Vodafone Red ensures that the festival reaches a wider audience with technological innovations this year. Many events of the 37th Istanbul Film Festival such as the opening ceremony, red carpet and award ceremony can be watched live. Also, the festival talks, and selected interviews with national and international guests, to be held at the festival centre, Yapı Kredi Culture Centre, will be followed digitally. Film lovers not only from Istanbul, but also from all over Turkey, will enjoy watching films on digital sessions that will be announced their times and programmes by the festival for the first time.
This year will also see the Virtual Reality (VR) experiences to be featured for the first time at the festival thanks to the collaboration of Istanbul Film Festival and Vodafone Red. VR experiences, which take place in major festival programs abroad, will offer interactive experiences to the followers of the Istanbul Film Festival through special virtual glasses.
Nine movie theatres
The 37th Istanbul Film Festival films will be screened at nine movie theatres: Atlas (two halls) and Beyoğlu movie theatres, as well as Pera Museum Auditorium in Beyoğlu district, Cinemaximum City’s Nişantaşı (two halls), Cinemaximum Zorlu Center in Gayrettepe, Rexx and Kadıköy movie theatres in Kadıköy.
The screenings will be at 11.00, 13.30, 16.00, 19.00 and 21.30.
The festival’s gift to students prevails this year: with the support of the patrons, student tickets for 11.00, 13.30 and 16.00 screenings on weekdays will be sold for 1 TL.
Members of Vodafone Red and Vodafone FreeZone purchasing one ticket on Biletix sales channels and from the festival’s box offices for screenings, will receive a second ticket free of charge between 24 March and 19 April. Gift tickets are limited. Limited student tickets on weekdays sold for 1 TL are not included in this campaign.
Yapı Kredi Culture Centre, renewed this year to restore Beyoğlu’s former allure, will be the festival centre of the 37th Istanbul Film Festival. The centre, which will host press meetings, panel discussions, festival talks, seminars and other related events, will be the heart of the festival.
Cinema Honorary Awards
The Cinema Honorary Awards of the 37th Istanbul Film Festival, presented to distinguished figures of the cinema of Turkey, will be bestowed to 5 revered figures this year: Perihan Savaş, a key actress with 130 films and TV series crowning a brilliant career; a unique writer and scriptwriter, Osman Şahin; the most prolific, “naughtiest” filmmaker in Turkish cinema Aram Gülyüz, and celebrated filmmaker and producer Arif Keskiner. The Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award will be given to Cevdet Pişkin, a familiar face for film buffs in Beyoğlu, who has served as the Managing Director of Atlas Movie Theatre for 20 years. The recipients will be presented their awards at the Opening Ceremony of the 37th Istanbul Film Festival on Friday, 6 April.
Meetings on the Bridge
Meetings on the Bridge, organised within the scope of the 37th Istanbul Film Festival for the 13th time brings filmmakers from Turkey and the neighbouring countries together with international film professionals and will take place between 6 and 13 April.
While providing an opportunity for filmmakers to hold the first international presentations of their new film projects at Film Development Workshop and films in post-production at Work in Progress, Meetings on the Bridge also aims to pave the way for co-productions and organises panels, master classes and forums. Neighbours platform was launched in 2015 in order to initiate new collaborations and enhance communication between filmmakers from Turkey and the neighbouring countries. The Neighbours platform builds a ground for institutions and individuals to co-operate while facilitating the development of common stories.
The award reception of Meetings on the Bridge will take place on Friday, 13 April.
Competitions across the festival
The competitions of the 37th Istanbul Film Festival will begin on 8 April. The winners of the International Competition, Human Rights in Cinema, National Competition, the National Documentary and the National Short Film competitions will be announced at the 37th Istanbul Film Festival Award Ceremony to be held on Tuesday,17 April.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
In the International Competition section of the Istanbul Film Festival, 11 films from 11 countries, under the “New Perspectives in Cinema” theme will vie for the Golden Tulip.
The International Competition, presented in memory of Şakir Eczacıbaşı, will be supported with a 25,000 Euro monetary prize given by the Eczacıbaşı Group. The director of the Best Film will be awarded the Golden Tulip, the grand prize of the festival, and 10,000 Euros, the local distribution company of the film in Turkey will be awarded 10,000 Euros, and the director of the film to receive the Special Jury Prize will be awarded 5,000 Euros.
The jury of the International Competition, presided by the director who won the Golden Tulip in 2017 in the International Competition with his film O Ornitólogo / TheOrnitologist, director João Pedro Rodrigues, comprises the actress known from the films such as Dogtooth and The LobsterAngeliki Papoulia, director of Las Herederas which won the Best Actress and Silver Bear Alfred Bauer awards at the 2018 Berlin Film Festival Marcelo Martinessi; known from Ferzan Özpetek’s Hamam and Harem films’ soundtracks, musician Pivio, and director of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Tiina Lokk.
International Competition films:
- Chien / Dog / Samuel Benchétrit / France
- Tuzdan Kaide / The Pillar of Salt / Burak Çevik / Turkey
- Cocote / Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias / Dominican Republic-Argentina-Germany-Qatar
- As Boas Maneiras / Good Manners /Marco Dutra & Juliana Rojas / Brazil-France
- Western /Valeska Grisebach / Germany-Bulgaria-Austria
- Pewnego razu w listopadzie / Once Upon a Time in November / Andrzej Jakimowski / Poland
- Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari / Soldiers. Story from Ferentari / Ivana Mladenovic / Romania-Serbia-Belgium
- Vinterbrødre / Winter brothers / Hlynur Palmason / Denmark
- Marlina Si Pembunuh Dalam Empat Babak / Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts / Mouly Surya / Indonesia-France-Malaysia-Thailand
- The Home / Asghar Yousefinejad / Iran
- The Rider / Chloe Zhao / USA
HUMAN RIGHTS IN CINEMA
The Human Rights in Cinema Competition is being presented only at the Istanbul Film Festival since 12 years. The Award endorsed by the co-production fund Eurimages, comprises a 5,000 Euros monetary prize. The Jury is comprised of Shirin Neshat, visual artist from New York and director of Looking for Oum Kulthum which will be in the festival programme; Christine Masson, producer of the French radio and television culture-art programmes, and Erol Mintaş, producer and director.
Human Rights in Cinema Competition films:
- Central Airport THF / Karim Ainouz / Germany-Brazil-France
- Razzia / Nabil Ayouch / Morocco-France-Belgium
- Frost / Sharunas Bartas / Lithuania-France-Ukraine-Poland
- Muhi – Generally Temporary / Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander, Tamir Elterman / Israel-Germany
- Styx / Wolfgang Fischer / Austria-Germany
- Une Saison en France / A Season in France / Mahamat-Salah Haroun / France
- Kaçış / The Escape / Kenan Kavut / Turkey
- Ptaki spiewaja w Kigali / Birds are singing in Kigali / Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze / Poland
- Obscuro Barroco / Evangelia Kranioti / France-Greece
- Pailalim / Underground / Daniel Palacio / Philippines
- Andið eðlilega / And Breathe Normally / Isold Uggadottir / Iceland-Sweden-Belgium
NATIONAL COMPETITION
13films that were completed in the 2017-18 season will be vying for the Golden Tulip in the National Competition of the festival, 10 of them world premieres and 1 of them Turkey premiere.
The National Competition Jury will distribute awards in 9 categories: Golden Tulip Best Film, Best Director, Special Prize of the Jury, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer, Best Editing, and Best Original Music.
Golden Tulip Best Film in the National Competition will be awarded with 150,000 TL, the film winning the Special Prize of the Juryin memory of Onat Kutlar will be awarded 50,000 TL. The prizes for Best Actress and Best Actor will be 10.000 TL each. Best Director will be awarded 50.000 TL given by Türk Tuborg A.Ş.
The jury of the 37th Istanbul Film Festival’s National Competition will be presided over by writer-director Pelin Esmer and comprises cinematographer Gökhan Tiryaki, actress Selen Uçer, poet-writer Küçük İskender, and film critic Barbara Lorey de la Charrière.
National Golden Tulip Competition films:
- Tuzdan Kaide / The Pillar of Salt / Burak Çevik
- Halef / Murat Düzgünoğlu
- Buğday / Grain / Semih Kaplanoğlu
- Kelebekler / Butterflies / Tolga Karaçelik
- Kaçış / The Escape / Kenan Kavut
- Renksiz Rüya / Hewno Bêreng / Colorless Dream / Mehmet Ali Konar
- Aydede / Road to the Moon / Abdurrahman Öner
- Yol Kenarı / Sideway / Tayfun Pirselimoğlu
- Borç / Debt / Vuslat Saraçoğlu
- Güvercin / The Pigeon / Banu Sıvacı
- Sofra Sırları / Serial Cook / Ümit Ünal
- Put Şeylere / Put to the Things / Onur Ünlü
- Körfez / The Gulf / Emre Yeksan
Out of Competition:
- Bekçi / Watchman / Durmuş Akbulut
- Locman / Lodging / Şükrü Alaçam
- Kuluçka / Incubation / Mehmet Selçuk Bilge
- Paranın Kokusu / The Smell of Money / Ahmet Boyacıoğlu
- Benim Küçük Sözlerim / My Short Words / Bekir Bülbül
- Dört Köşeli Üçgen / Four Cornered Triangle / Mehmet Güreli
- Eksi Bir / Minus One / Orhan Oğuz
- Taksim Hold’em / Michael Önder
- Bağcık / The Shoelace / Görkem Yeltan
NATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
The Istanbul Film Festival will be awarding a 10,000 TL worth Best Documentary Award, in order to support documentary film-makers and documentary film production in Turkey. The National Documentary Competition jury consists of director Ayat Najafi, the Chairman of Association of Documentary Filmmakers in Turkey Mustafa Ünlü, and the Director of Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological DocumentaryPetra Holzer. 10 of the documentaries will have their Turkey premieres at the Istanbul Film Festival.
National Documentary Competition films:
- Parçalar / Fragments / Rojda Akbayır
- Onun Filmi / Her First / Su Baloğlu, Merve Bozcu
- Saraybosna Yürüyüşü / Sarajevo March / Ersan Bayraktar
- Güzel Adam Süreyya / Süreyya the Kitman / Gökçe Kaan Demirkıran
- Turtle Shells / Schildkröten Panzer / Tuna Kaptan / Germany
- Zavar, Çocuk ve Keklik / Zavar, The Kid and Partridges / Zeynep Gülru Keçeciler
- Fındıktan Sonra / Gone with the Hazelnuts / Ercan Kesal
- Yerel TV / Local TV / Özgür Fırat Kınay
- Araf / Didem Pekün
- Başka Tren Gıdı Gıdı / Another Train Gıdı Gıdı / Yasin Ali Türkeri
Special Screenings
Three documentary portraits of three celebrated figures in Turkey, will be screened during the Istanbul Film Festival in a special section. These documentaries portray the lives of Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, one of the world’s most important Sumerologists who is 104-years-old; Duygu Sağıroğlu, director, art director, scriptwriter and educator; and world-renowned writer Yaşar Kemal.
- Muazzez Mucizesi 104 Yaşında / Miracle Worker 104 Years Old / Nurdan Arca
- Bitmeyen Yolculuk / Endless Journey / Mehmet Güleryüz
- Yaşar Kemal Efsanesi / The Legend of Yaşar Kemal / Aydın Orak
NATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION
The National Short Film Competition is organised to encourage short film-making, supporting the development in this field, and bringing together the audience and short films of quality. The jury, composed of art director and co-founder of Transilvania International Film Festival Mihai Chirilov, and directors Ceylan Özçelik and Onur Saylak will select the Best Short Film from among 12 films which will be awarded 5,000 TL. FIPRESCI will also select a film to award the FIPRESCI Prize in this category.
National Short Film Competition films:
- Kötü Kız / Wicked Girl / Ayce Kartal
- Anadolu Yok / There is no Anatolia / Ferit Katipoğlu
- Doğu Yakası / East Side / Harun Durmuş
- Arîn/ Mizgin Müjde Arslan
- Bitmiş Aşklar Müzesi / Museum of Broken Love / Murathan Özbek
- Sana İnanmıyorum Ama Yerçekimi Var / I Don't Believe In You But Then There Is Gravity / Umut Subaşı
- Hit Me Baby / Semih Gülen
- Toprak / Soil / Alican Durba
- Tapınak Şövalyeleri / The Knights' Templar / Arda Ekşigil
- Keçi / Bizin / Goat / Boğaç Uzun
- Sirayet / The All Seeing Blind / Nuri Cihan Özdoğan
- Kaset / The Tape / Serkan Fakılı
SEYFİ TEOMAN BEST DEBUT FILM PRIZE
The Istanbul Film Festival presents the Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Prize in memoriam director and producer Seyfi Teoman, who passed away in 2012. Director of the film awarded with the Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Prize will be presented 30,000 TL by CMYLMZ Fikirsanat. All the 12 debut feature fiction films from Turkey in the Turkish Cinema (National Competition and “Out of Competition”) sections are eligible for the prize. Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Prize jury consists of editor Osman Bayraktaroğlu, scriptwriter and producer Elma Tataragić, and director Özcan Alper.
Films to compete for the Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Award:
- Tuzdan Kaide / The Pillar of Salt / Burak Çevik
- Kaçış / The Escape / Kenan Kavut
- Renksiz Rüya / Hewno Bêreng / Colorless Dream / Mehmet Ali Konar
- Aydede / Road to the Moon / Abdurrahman Öner
- Borç / Debt / Vuslat Saraçoğlu
- Güvercin / The Pigeon / Banu Sıvacı
- Körfez / The Gulf / Emre Yeksan
- Bekçi / Watchman / Durmuş Akbulut
- Locman / Lodging / Şükrü Alaçam
- Kuluçka / Incubation / Mehmet Selçuk Bilge
- Benim Küçük Sözlerim / My Short Words / Bekir Bülbül
- Taksim Hold’em / Michael Önder
FIPRESCI AWARD
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) will award the FIPRESCI Award to a film each from the International Competition, the National Competition, and the National Short Film Competition. The FIPRESCI jury will be headed by Massimo Lechi from Italy, and will include Elaine Guerini from Brazil, Jan Storø from Norway, Martin Kanuch from Slovakia and Ayça Çiftçi and Ali Ercivan from Turkey.
Festival’s stellar section: Vodafone Galas
Istanbul Film Festival’s popular section Vodafone Red Galas will include the Turkey premieres of 12 most anticipated films by celebrated directors and star actors.
This year, the Vodafone Galas section features a wide array of interesting, award-winning, and striking productions, including Isle of Dogs, director Wes Anderson’s latest which screened at the opening of the 2018 Berlin Film Festival; Disobedience by Sebastián Lelio, who won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2018, starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams; The Bookshop by Isabel Coixet, adapted to screen from the novel by Penelope Fitzgerald and had its world premiere at 2018 Berlin Film Festival; The Happy Prince starring the celebrated British actor Rupert Everett who was behind the camera for the first time to play Oscar Wilde; and Early Man, Oscar-winning animator Nick Park’s new hilarious stop-motion animation film.
Other films that will be screened at Vodafone Red Galas are Beast, directed by Michael Pearce with its spectacular landscapes and increasing tension in the suffocating society pressure, which had its premiere at Toronto Film Festival; Transit, German auteur Christian Petzold's latest film which had its world premiere at 2018 Berlin Film Festival; Cannes awarded You Were Never Really Here, starring Joaquin Phoenix, directed by Lynne Ramsay; Unsane, Steven Soderbergh's latest movie which was shot on iPhone and had its world premiere at 2018 Berlin Film Festival, Black River by Erick Zonca adapted from the bestseller by Dror Mishani, who is also the scriptwriter of Wisdom of the Crowd TV series.
The festival will open with Lean on Pete, also within the Vodafone Red Galas section. Directed by Andrew Haigh, who is known for Weekend and 45 Years and praised for his tenderness and elegance in his approach to small and simple narratives. Moreover, Romanian director Adina Pintilie's first feature film Touch me Not, which has been awarded the Golden Bear at 2018 Berlin Film Festival, will have its Turkey Premiere right after the festival on 19 April.
The newest section of the festival: No More Flowers
The newest section of the festival brings together 10 films featuring strong women as protagonists, who do not give in to oppression, who determine their own paths, and manage to stand on their own feet. From Iran to Belgium, Argentina to Georgia, women in these films in their personal or business lives–as executive, judge, photographer, or homeless–reject to be bossed around and stand up for their rights. Scary Mother, returning from many international festivals with awards through a sense of absurd humorous tones, a view of creativity mechanisms and a liberating female figurine approach; Negar, directed by Iran's celebrated actor Rambod Javan; Number One, the story of a French business woman; Of Skin and Men, ridiculing the concepts of masculinity, loyalty and obscenity; Alanis, directed by Anahí Berneri, who has drawn a clear and extraordinarily realistic portrayal of Argentina; and more are included in this section.
Ingmar Bergman: 100 years
The Istanbul Film Festival in its 37th edition will celebrate the talent and legacy of the great Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman with a special selection, on the centenary of his birth, with the sponsorship of Volvo Car Turkey. 10 filmmakers from Turkey selected 9 films that are their favourites, and they will be introducing these films at their screenings during the festival in April.
Here are the filmmakers and their selected films for the Ingmar Bergman: 100 Years section:
Kazım Öz – Smultronstället / Wild Strawberries (1957)
Emin Alper – Det sjunde inseglet / The Seventh Seal (1958)
Semih Kaplanoğlu – Nattvardsgästerna / Winter Light (1962)
Reha Erdem – Tystnaden / The Silence (1963)
Can Evrenol – Persona (1966)
Ümit Ünal – Skammen / Shame (1968)
Aslı Özge – Viskningar och rop / Cries and Whispers (1972)
Melik Saraçoğlu & Hakkı Kurtuluş – Scener ur ett äktenskap / Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
Yeşim Ustaoğlu – Höstsonaten / Autumn Sonata (1978)
A Turkish film classic, Bilge Olgaç’s İpekçe is on the screen with its restored copy
The Istanbul Film Festival has been running the project Turkish Classics Revisited for ten years with the support of Zurich Sigorta for the first time this year, renovating significant works of the Turkish cinema and reintroducing them to contemporary viewers. This year sees the renovation of İpekçe (1987), based on true-life events told by master storyteller Osman Şahin, and written by Şahin and Bilge Olgaç, which tells the story of an unfortunate prostitute and the hypocrisy that surrounds her. The film, restored by Atlas Post Production, will meet the audience 30 years after its production. İpekçe, awarded with the 1987 Ministry of Culture Certificate of Achievement and the 1990 Ankara Film Festival AFSAD Special Prize, stars Perihan Savaş as the eponymous heroine with Berhan Şimşek, and features Gülsen Tuncer, Oktar Durukan, Kemal İnci andŞener Gezgen. Perihan Savaş, is one of the recipients of the Cinema Honorary Award of the Istanbul Film Festival this year. The gala screening of the restored version of İpekçe will take place on Tuesday, April 10 at Nişantaşı City’s.
Architectural Utopias–Cinematic Dystopias with the artist Ali Mahmut Demirel
37th Istanbul Film Festival cooperates with the art space Arter for a programme that takes a holistic approach to the production process of Berlin-based artist Ali Mahmut Demirel. Known for his experimental video works, live visual designs, performances, and the music videos he produced for Plastikman, Richie Hawtin and Captain Comatose; Demirel’s solo exhibition curated by Başak Doğa Temür, Islewill take place at Arter between 16 March and 15 July 2018. The films The Last of England (Derek Jarman), Stalker(Andrei Tarkovsky) and Kuyu / The Well (Metin Erksan), which inspired Demirel’s three exhibition videos will be screened at the festival as part of the project.
Ali Mahmut Demirel, at the performance based on The Well by Metin Erksan will emphasise the theme desperation of humankind on 11 April. The tickets can be purchased on Biletix sales channels and from the Biletix and Salon İKSV box offices.
Festival Talks
The 37th Istanbul Film Festival offers a dynamic schedule not only with its film programme, but also with its festival talks with special guests. Shirin Neshat, one of the jury members of the Human Rights in Cinema Competition whose second feature film, Looking for Oum Kulthum is included in the programme of the festival this year will share her thoughts and experiences on photography, visual art, and cinema.
One of the festival’s International Competition jury who is known in Turkey for his music for Ferzan Özpetek's film Hammam and whose film music for Ammore e malavita, to be shown at the festival, was awarded at the Venice Film Festival, Pivio will share the turning points of his musical journey with audience and music lovers.
Known as the cornerstones of Turkish cinema, “Toros summit of our storytelling,” Osman Şahin; “Yeşilçam's most productive and ‘naughtiest’ filmmaker” Aram Gülyüz; and a name who crossed each filmmaker’s path, Arif Keskiner will come together at a festival talk titled From Yeşilçam to Today with Atilla Dorsay, the honorary member of the Advisory Board of the Istanbul Film Festival, as the moderator. Author and scriptwriter Osman Şahin is considered the most adapted writer in Turkish cinema. The number of films that Aram Gülyüz made as a director from 1958 to this day reaches 140. Arif Keskiner is a producer who has brought many masterpieces to Turkish cinema.
Another talk of the festival titled Literature on Film, Küçük İskender, who has produced works in many literary genres such as poetry, novels, essays and journals, on the National Competition jury, will discuss the relationship between cinema and literature. Gökhan Tiryaki, whose career took off at the Turkish National TV (TRT) and continued as cinematographer to esteemed directors including Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Çağan Irmak and Pelin Esmer, since 1996, has won numerous awards at national and international festivals and is a jury of the festival’s National Competition will meet with film lovers and enthusiasts at another festival talk.
Events of the festival
As it is every year, the 37th Istanbul Film Festival will organise a series of events including concerts, exhibitions and special performances. Photographer Muhsin Akgün’s portraits of the actors from the National Competition using an iPhone will be on display as part of the festival’s events. The solo exhibition, Festival Studio will be opened on 4 April at Galeri Işık Nişantaşı.
Not Gray, Black: Ankara Rocks! to be screened as part of the programme within the Musicians section is a documentary that tells the story of Ankara's exciting underground music scene of the 70s, 80s and 90s. A concert attached to the documentary will take place on 12 April at 21.00 at Salon İKSV.
Mediha Didem Türemen's solo exhibition Myths, inspired by Ingmar Bergman who said “When film is not a document, it is dream,” will be realised with the cooperation of Bergman Foundation, Adahan Istanbul and Mixer Gallery.
Follow the festival on social media
All films in the festival programme were tagged in 65 categories to ensure a smoother and easier selection process for our audiences while making their own programmes for the Istanbul Film Festival. With this system, you can easily distinguish the types and categories of the films with tags and choose the films you prefer.
You can follow all updates, further information on the films, events, and guests, as well as tips on the programme of the Istanbul Film Festival on our social media accounts. The audience will get to know the programme better, get a chance to win surprise presents, and be part of the festival by using the hashtag #istfilmfest. You can also access all information pertaining to the festival on İKSV Mobilapp, developed with the contributions of Vodafone Turkey and downloadable on AppStore and Google Play, and read the festival catalogue on your iPad on the İKSV Kitaplık app, downloadable on AppStore.
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When and where festival tickets go on sale
Festival tickets will be available for purchase as of Saturday, 24 March at10.30. The tickets can be purchased on Biletix sales channels and from the box offices at the Atlas and Rexx movie theatres, without any service charge.
Ticket Prices
Weekday daytime screenings (11.00, 13.30, 16.00) are only8 TL; for students only 1 TL (limited to capacity.)
Weekday 19.00 screenings and weekends (11.00, 13.30, 16.00, 19.00) are 22 TL; for students and seniors (over 65) 15 TL.
All 21.30 screenings are 22 TL.
Screenings at Pera Museum Auditorium are 8 TL.
Tulip Card holders will, as always, benefit from the advance sales and special discounts up to25% on the festival tickets. During the advance sale period, tickets can be purchased at the Atlas and Rexx movie theatres, as well as from the Tulip Card Communications Centre (+90 216 556 98 56), and on the Biletix website(biletix.com) and Biletix sales points. Advance sales period for Tulip Card members: 20 March for Black and White Tulip Card members and 21-22-23 March for Red and Yellow Tulip Card members.
An essential guide for filmgoers during the festival, festival catalogue with film synopses, festival schedule, and all the details, will be on sale for 8 TL at Atlas and Rexx movie theatres and at İKSV as of Monday, 20 March.
Members of Vodafone Red and Vodafone FreeZone purchasing one ticket on Biletix sales channels and from the festival’s box offices for screenings, will receive a second one free of charge between 24 March and 19 April. Gift tickets are limited. Limited student tickets on weekdays sold for 1 TL are not included in this campaign.
Students enjoy weekday daytime screenings at 1 TL
A total of 20,000 festival seats for weekday screenings at 11.00, 13.30, and 16.00 will be reserved for students for 1 TL. Please see film.iksv.org for a detailed list of patrons who have contributed towards the realisation of this project. Students who benefit from 1 TL tickets will be required to present valid student IDs at the entrance. Viewers who do not present a valid student ID will have to purchase additional tickets compensating the difference between full price and discount tickets. These tickets are limited in capacity.
Supporters of the 37th Istanbul Film Festival
The 37th Istanbul Film Festival is held with the support of more than 20 institutions. The festival is organised by the generous support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey General Directorate of Cinema. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Beşiktaş Municipality, Beyoğlu Municipality and Kadıköy Municipality continue their publicity support for the festival.
There are 10 theme sponsors:
- Vodafone Red “Vodafone Red Galas”
- Türk Tuborg A.Ş. “National Competition and Turkish Cinema”
- Sabah Newspaper “Best of the Fests”
- ATV “Challenging the Years”
- NTV “Documentary Time with NTV”
- Istanbul Ayvansaray University “Cinemania”
- Selpak “Antidepressant”
- NESCAFÉ GOLD “Young Masters”
- Volvo Car Turkey “Ingmar Bergman: 100 Years”
The Istanbul Film Festival continues to reintroduce the distinguished works of the Turkish cinema on the silver screen in its “Special Screening: Turkish Classics Revisited” section, which was launched ten years ago under the sponsorship of the Zurich Sigorta.
The Istanbul Film Festival continues its collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Istanbul, German Films, and Kino 2017, as it did in 2016, as well as numerous cultural institutes and foreign missions, including Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Institut Français Istanbul and many more featured in the catalogue.
The Leading Sponsor of all İKSV festivals is Eczacıbaşı Group, the Official Communications Sponsor is Vodafone Turkey, the Official Carrier is DHL Worldwide Express, and the Hotel Sponsor The Marmara Collection. The service sponsors are Zurich Sigorta, Acıbadem Health Group, Navitas, GFK, directComm and AGC.