International Istanbul Film Festival kicks off

The 33rd International Istanbul Film Festival has begun with an opening ceremony held Friday evening at the Lutfi Kirdar International Convention and Exhibition Center. Organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts with the decade-long support of Akbank, the opening ceremony hosted prominent names of the Turkish cinema, as it celebrated its 100th anniversary. The ceremony began with the screening of a special promotional video for the festival, which was followed by the introduction of film categories and awards. After paying tribute to the unforgettable names of the silver screen who have recently died, such as Alain Resnais and Tuncel Kurtiz, six eminent figures on the Turkish movie scene received the “Cinema Honorary Award.”

Following the opening ceremony, the festival opened with the screening of revered British director Stephen Frears' latest movie “Philomena”, which stars Steve Coogan and Judi Dench. The movie, nominated for four Oscars, is part of the “Akbank Galas” section of the festival. Starting with its first screenings on April 5, the 33rd Istanbul Film Festival will be taking place across 8 theatres – Beyoglu Atlas, Beyoglu Beyoglu, Pera Museum, Istanbul Modern, Citylife City’s, Ortakoy Feriye and Kadikoy Rexx.

Besides the more than 200 films in over 20 categories, the festival will offer cinephiles a fortnight full of panels with filmmakers, master classes, and workshops.