20th Akbank Short Film Festival starts on March 25

The 20th Akbank Short Film Festival will be held between March 25 and April 4 this year. 

The festival, to which 2,241 short films from 74 countries applied, consists of nine different sections titled Festival Shorts," "Shorts from Around the World," "Young Perspectives," "Short to Long," "Experiences," "Documentary Cinema," "Perspective," "Special Screenings" and "Forum."

The screening program will include many films shown at world festivals as well as new films that will premiere in Türkiye. The audience will have the opportunity to see 96 short and two feature films from 41 countries. 

Nuri Bilge Ceylan as guest of honor

Acclaimed director Nuri Bilge Ceylan will join the festival's 20th-anniversary celebration as a special guest.

Ceylan will discuss his filmmaking experiences and path in cinema with the audience. The event will also showcase a screening of his first short film, "Koza," offering a glimpse into this celebrated director's early works.

The Forum section will feature the return of the Short Film Screenplay Competition, designed to nurture and support short films from the very beginning, the idea stage.

This year, 587 scripts were submitted by aspiring filmmakers. The competition has narrowed it down to eight finalists, whose stories will be reviewed by the festival jury.

Festival can be watched online

This year's festival will be held on both sides of Istanbul, with the European side at Akbank Sanat and the Anatolian side at Moda Stage.

Movie enthusiasts will also be able to follow the festival online at "filmonline.akbanksanat.com."

Source: Newsroom