Organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), the Istanbul Film Festival, Türkiye’s largest film event, is gearing up for its 43rd edition. Sponsored by N Kolay, the festival will showcase acclaimed and award-winning films from Turkish and international cinema, along with special screenings featuring stars and master filmmakers.
Director Wim Wenders is coming to Istanbul for the first time as the festival’s guest of honor in collaboration with MUBI. The festival will feature three films of Wenders: his final film Anselm, which premiered at Cannes and explores the life and artistic journey of German artist Anselm Kiefer, Alice in the Cities, which will be screened from a restored copy on its 50th anniversary, and Japan’s Oscar nominee Perfect Days, in which Kôji Yakusho stars and creates wonders. As part of the festival, Wenders will also meet audiences in a talk.
On the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Turkey, Kôji Yakusho will also come to Istanbul for the festival. One of Japan’s most renowned and respected male actors, Kôji Yakusho, shoulders the burden of every genre, from yakuza films to romantic drama and from action to comedy. Yakusho, who has received an award for almost every role he has taken on, is in the festival program with four films that stand out in his filmography. Festival audiences will be able to watch Kôji Yakusho as the lead in 13 Assassins (Takashi Miike), Under the Open Sky (Miwa Nishikawa), Shall We Dansu (Masayuki Suô), and Perfect Days, with which he won a Best Actor Award in Cannes Film Festival.
The festival will award Wim Wenders and Kôji Yakusho a Cinema Honorary Award before the screenings.
This year the Cinema Honorary Awards, presented to those who devoted their hearts and efforts to cinema, will be presented to renowned actress Meral Orhonsay and versatile filmmaker Engin Ayça. The awards will be presented at the Opening Ceremony on the night of 16 April.
The 43rd Istanbul Film Festival presents an extensive program of 132 feature films and 12 short films, including recent productions from around the world, cult classics, and the latest works from both established directors and emerging talents. Over the course of 12 days, the festival will offer a cinematic experience filled with film screenings, discussions with guest directors and actors, as well as special events and screenings.
Görgün Taner, General Director of İKSV, said, “As İKSV, we have been supporting different areas of culture and arts and striving to present our audiences with the best productions for over 50 years. We have been organizing the Istanbul Film Festival, one of the Foundation’s most established events, for 43 years.
Program of the festival
The 43rd Istanbul Film Festival program includes films from 15 different sections, including classics such as Best of the Fests, Young Masters, Mined Zone, Antidepressant, No More Flowers, and Where Are You My Love?
Musicians, the section that brings together lovers of cinema and music, is back with five films, including concert films by Ryuichi Sakamato and Talking Heads, iconic figures who have left their mark on the history of music, as well as original stories of music lovers from different parts of the world.
The Spectre section, which was added to the festival program last year, will once again explore films that experiment with cinema’s new possibilities. This year’s selection includes brand new films from the Berlin Film Festival, including the newest films by Lisandro Alonso and Hong Sang-soo, as well as Carlos Reygadas’ restored cult film Battle in Heaven.
The Hungarian Rhapsodies section, devised on the occasion of the 2024 Hungarian-Turkish Cultural Year, brings together the most respected directors of Hungarian Cinema. 12 features and 1 short film that spans from 1966 to 2023, from drama to animation, from political to comedy, and from young masters to auteurs, will be screened within the scope of the section.
