İzmir short film fest starts

İZMİR – Anadolu Agency

Organized for the 14th time by the İzmir Cinema Association, the İzmir International short Film Festival has started.

This year, the festival will host 63 countries. The committee said they have made a list chosen from 365 movies. Association president Kayhan Kırmızıgül spoke at the press conference in the French Culture Center and said there are nine films from each category to compete for the Golden Cat award.

The jury of the festival includes director Hüseyin Karabey, writer Burak Göral, Irene Genhart, Arkas Art Center director Betül Aksoy, Hong Kong Film Festival Program Director Bede Chang and actor Solmaz Panahi.

This year Arab world is the focus of the festival. The program has movies from Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Palestine. The festival ends on Nov. 24 with an award ceremony.

This year, the Izmir Short Film Festival is also preparing a book for their visitors and supporters to write their feelings and thoughts, aiming to support Jafar Panahi.