Prominent film fest kicked off with gala

ISTANBUL

The 41st Istanbul Film Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), kicked off with an opening gala on April 7 at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert (CRR) Hall, bringing together stars and distinguished figures of Turkish cinema.

The festival’s cinema honor awards, as well as plaques of appreciation to institutions and organizations that contributed to the realization of the festival, were presented at the opening ceremony of the event, hosted by prominent Turkish actor Cem Davran.

Films by 164 directors from 43 countries will be screened in 14 sections at the festival, which will end on April 19. In addition to the screenings, the festival will feature talks, concerts and special events with the participation of guest directors and actors.

The retrospective section of the festival was reserved for Sergio Leone, who is considered one of the most creative and influential figures in cinema this year. Seven feature films shot by Italian director, producer and screenwriter Leone will be screened in remastered copies.

The festival also brings to light significant works of Turkish cinema which were restored. This year, moviegoers will have the opportunity to watch the 1953 production “Beklenen Şarkı” (the Expected Song) on the big screen, produced by Turkey’s first female director Cahide Sonku.

One of the traditional sections of the festival, the “Young Masters” section will be screened in a competitive way. Films in this section will be evaluated for the first time this year by a six-person jury of film students aged between 18 and 25 residing in Istanbul.

The winners of the competitions will be announced at the award ceremony to be held on the night of April 19.