Awards presented at 44th Istanbul Film Festival
ISTANBUL
The 44th Istanbul Film Festival, hosted by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), celebrated its winners in a vibrant awards ceremony, honoring outstanding achievements in cinema.
The closing and awards ceremony was held at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, where the best films in both the international and national competitions were honored.
This year’s festival featured 139 feature films and 15 short films, showcasing the latest works by renowned directors as well as selections from global festivals.
A total of 51 films competed in the short and feature-length categories, with 18 awards handed out during the ceremony.
The jury for the "Golden Tulip Competition," chaired by Shekhar Kapur, included Ada Solomon, Ebru Ceylan, Saadet Işıl Aksoy and Cameron Bailey.
For the first time, the National and International Competitions were merged under the Golden Tulip Competition, with 15 domestic and international films competing in this category.
The Golden Tulip for Best Film was awarded to “Lesson Learned” directed by Balint Szimler.
Kariyo & Ababay Jury Special Prize went to “The Crowd” directed by Sahand Kabiri.
The Best Director Award was given to Gürcan Keltek for “New Down Fades” while Pelin Esmer won Best Screenplay for “And the Rest Will Follow.”
Sofia Berezovska received the Best Actress Award for her performance in “Under the Volcano” and the Best Actor Award went to Nazmi Kırık for “The Flying Meatball Maker.”
The Short Film Competition, aimed at encouraging short film production, supporting development in this field and connecting quality short films with audiences, featured 12 films from Türkiye and abroad.
The jury, comprising Sofia Bohdanowicz, Sinan Kesova and Herve Le Phuez, awarded the Best Short Film to “Dancing in the Corner” directed by Jan Bujnowski. An honorable mention went to “We Need to Talk About Dilan” directed by Umut Şilan Oğurlu.
The "Emerging Talents" section, open only to first and second films by domestic directors and designed to support young filmmakers, featured a jury of Florent Herry, Bulut Reyhanoğlu, Vuslat Saraçoğlu and Tibet Çam.
The "Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Award" went to “Ayşe,” directed by Necmi Sancak.
In the Independent Awards section, which included juries from the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and three Turkish professional organizations (Film-Yön, BSB, and SİYAD), films were evaluated by Dmytro Desiateryk, Ayla Kanbur and Simon Popek.
The FIPRESCI Prize in the Golden Tulip Competition went to “Lesson Learned,” while the award in the Short Film Competition went to “Citizen-Inmate” by Hesam Eslami.
The Film Directors Association (Film-Yön) jury awarded the Best Director prize in memory of Şerif Gören to Doğuş Algün “Unfruitful Times.”
The Documentary Filmmakers Association (BSB) awarded "Best Documentary" to “Exam on the Edge of Time” by İlkay Nişancı.
Lastly, the Film Critics Association of Türkiye (SİYAD) awarded Best Film to “Apollon by Day, Athena by Night” by Emine Yıldırım.
