A 12-day fest for film lovers in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

Organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), the 38th Istanbul Film Festival will be held from April 5 to 16 this year. The festival will screen more than 150 feature films.

The festival comprises five major competitions within its program: International Competition, National Competition, Human Rights in Cinema Competition, National Documentary Competition and National Short Film Competition. The festival will once again present a selection of cult films, the most extensive showcase of films from Turkey, along with retrospectives, new discoveries, masterpieces, and hidden treasures.

 The jury to evaluate the films in the National Competition for the 38th Istanbul Film Festival will be headed by director, writer, and scriptwriter Ümit Ünal. Fellow jury members include actress Derya Alabora, actor Alican Yücesoy, cinematographer Andreas Sinanos, and writer and scriptwriter Gaye Boralıoğlu. 

This year, the festival commemorates legendary director Stanley Kubrick on the 20th anniversary of his passing. One of the special sections of the 38th Istanbul Film Festival, “Factory of Masterpieces: Kubrick,” beckons the fans and younger generations who haven’t watched the films of this influential director to the movie theater to the silver screen experience. 

Remastered copies of 13 feature films directed by Stanley Kubrick will be screened, thus presenting the director’s filmography in its entirety: “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999), “Full Metal Jacket” (1987), “The Shining” (1980), “Barry Lyndon” (1975), “A Clockwork Orange” (1971), “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (1964), “Lolita” (1962), “Spartacus” (1960), “Paths of Glory” (1957), “The Killing” (1956), “Killer’s Kiss” (1955) and “Fear and Desire” (1953).

 Each year since 2008, the Istanbul Film Festival restores Turkish classics. This year, esteemed director Şerif Gören’s 1987 masterpiece “On Kadın” (10 Women) will be restored by Atlas Post Production to be screened during the festival. 

Palm d’Or-winning master director Gören, who often has tackled women’s issues in his films, adapted Hüseyin Kuzu’s script to present portraits of women dealing with problems in a male-dominated world.

The Cinema Awards of the 38th Istanbul Film Festival will be presented to four revered figures of Turkish cinema during the opening ceremony of the festival on April 4. 

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Gören. Also, Göksel Arsoy and Selda Alkor will receive the Honorary Cinema Awards. The Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award will go to the founding member of the Turkish Cinematheque Association, Jak Şalom.