Film festival juries announced

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The two judicial presidents for the 31st Istanbul Film Festival have been announced, both for the national and international categories. Preparations continue for the festival organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) between March 31 and April 15. The event is sponsored by Akbank.

The president of the jury for the Golden Tulip International Competition will be Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival for his latest film “Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da” (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) last year, according to a statement by İKSV.

The winner of Best Film will receive 25,000 euros, presented by the Eczacıbaşı Group in memory of late businessman Şakir Eczacıbaşı, with 10,000 euros presented to the Turkish distributor of the winning film. The jury will also present the Jury Special Prize to one selected director.

The president of the jury for the Golden Tulip National Competition will be poet and writer Murathan Mungan, who has had many works adapted to the stage. Additionally, the panel will give awards across nine different groupings, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Script, Best Director of Photography, Best Fiction, Best Music and the Jury Special Prize.

In the national competition category, Best Film will win 150,000 Turkish Liras, with Best Director receiving 50,000 liras and the Best Actress and Best Actor winning 10,000 liras each. The Jury Special Prize, which was attached to a monetary offering for the first time last year, will be presented by Efes Pilsen. The award will be given in memory of Onat Kutlar and the director of the winning film will be given $30,000.