The event will bring together more than 150 international guests, 300 industry professionals from Türkiye and members of the academic community.
The sixth Korkut Ata Turkish World Film Festival will bring 56 films from the Turkic world to Istanbul from Nov. 3 to 7, with 30 productions competing in three categories and four new film projects set to receive support.
Organized by the International Cinema Association under the auspices of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the festival will bring together more than 150 international guests, 300 industry professionals from Türkiye and members of the academic community.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the festival would strengthen cultural ties through joint productions and bring stories from the Turkic world to wider audiences.
The event is supported by the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) and the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA).
Launched in Istanbul in 2021, the festival has since traveled to Bursa, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan before returning to its founding city for its sixth edition.
The five-day festival will feature 56 films from different parts of the Turkic world. A total of 30 productions will compete for awards in three categories: Feature fiction, documentary and short film, with 10 films in each category.
Juries comprising directors, actors and film professionals from across the Turkic world will evaluate the competing productions.
The program will also include the Contemporary Human Stories, Historical Panorama and Turquoise Documentary sections, as well as animation screenings.
The opening ceremony will take place at Atlas Cinema at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, with the Kyrgyz production “Aytmatov” making its Turkish premiere as the festival’s opening film.
Directed by Kanıbek Kalmatov and produced by Timurlan Tashiev, the biographical film tells the story of renowned Kyrgyz writer Chinghiz Aitmatov.
The film traces key moments in his life, from the tragic death of his father, Torekul Aitmatov, during the Stalin era and his childhood during World War II to his rise in the literary world.
Four film projects to receive support
The festival will introduce a Türkiye-Kyrgyzstan pitching event for the first time, offering support to four selected film projects.
Scheduled for Nov. 5 at The Marmara Meeting Center, the event will give filmmakers from both countries the opportunity to present their projects to a jury comprising members from Türkiye and Kyrgyzstan.
The Turkic World Cinema Summit will take place on Nov. 4 at The Marmara’s Grand Ballroom, bringing together representatives of the film industries from across the Turkic world to discuss co-production opportunities and ways to strengthen cooperation between countries.
The festival will also host its first international cinema symposium and an artificial intelligence panel examining how new technologies are changing cinematic storytelling.
The International Turkic World Korkut Ata Cinema Symposium will be held at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Communication at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 5, bringing together filmmakers and academics to discuss cinema from the Turkic world.
The panel titled “Artificial Intelligence in Cinema and the Digital Transformation of Ancient Narratives” will take place at Atlas Cinema at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 7. Participants will include Cinema General Director Birol Güven, academic Serdar Öztürk, academic Şebnem Özdemir, filmmaker Ozan Sihay and representatives of the artificial intelligence team at production company Ay Yapım.
The discussion will focus on how emerging technologies are transforming cinematic storytelling and the future of traditional narratives in the digital age.
The festival’s closing and awards ceremony will be held at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) at 8 p.m. on Nov. 7.
Awards in the feature fiction category will include Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Actor. The documentary and short film competitions will present first, second and third prizes.
All film screenings will be free of charge. Venues will include Atlas Cinema, AKM Yeşilçam Cinema, Emek Cinema, the cinema hall at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Communication and the Sadabat Hall at Istanbul Commerce University.
