The eighth edition of the Bosphorus International Film Festival is getting ready to kick off. Running from 23-30 October in Istanbul, the festival will hold its physical screenings in the Beyoğlu and Kadıköy neighbourhoods. It is organised by the Bosphorus Cinema Association, with contributions from the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the country’s General Directorate of Cinema. Emrah Kılıç is serving as its artistic director.

In the competitions, starting with the National Feature Film Competition, ten films are vying for seven awards, including the Golden Dolphin, valued at 100,000 TL (€11,000). The winner will be decided upon by the president of the jury, writer-scriptwriter-producer Tarik Tufan, and his fellow jury members: director Ramin Matin, cinematographer Taner Tokgöz, and actresses Ipek Türktan Kaynak and Ecem Uzun. Eight of the selected titles will be having their Istanbul premieres, while two of them will world-premiere at Bosphorus. The selection includes Flash Drive by Derviş Zaim, which tells the story of a wounded Syrian soldier; Food for a Funeral by Reis Çelik, which follows a poet-singer and his disciple; In the Shadows [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Erdem Tepegöz, a dystopian drama with sci-fi elements; Just Different by Ahmet Sönmez, the portrayal of a high-functioning autistic father and his son, unspooling as a world premiere; and Kodokushi by Ensar Altay (Turkey/Japan), a documentary focusing on the basis of a Japanese tradition, which will also enjoy its world premiere.

Furthermore, Koku by Barış Gördağ and Yasin Çetin tells the story of a little girl living with her deaf-mute grandmother, Mavzer by Fatih Özcan is the story of a man who wishes to buy a Mauser gun to protect his sheep from the wolves, Penny Bank by Ferit Karol focuses on Orhan and his relationship with his family during troubled times, Weasel by Orçun Benli follows a young ex-policeman as he tries to adapt to his new life, and You Know Him by Ercan Kesal (Turkey/Serbia) is a tragicomic story of a doctor who is a candidate for the position of Istanbul’s district mayor.

In the International Feature Film Competition, another ten movies will be eyeing five trophies, along with the Golden Dolphin for Best Film, worth 50,000 TL (€5,500). The international jury is headed up by director-scriptwriter-producer Joanna Kos-Krauze, and the members include director Ismet Sijarina; Anna Katchko, chief advisor to the Kazakh Cinema Center and a producer; director Nariman Aliev, who was awarded last year at Bosphorus for Homeward [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]; and Zlatko Vidačković, a FIPRESCI member and artistic director of the Pula Film Festival.

All of these films will be having their Turkish premieres, and they are Bandar Band [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Manijeh Hekmat (Iran/Germany), The Best Is Yet to Come by Jing Wang (China), Focus, Grandma [+lire aussi :
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interview : Ru Hasanov
fiche film] by Ru Hasanov (Azerbaijan/France), Ordinary Justice [+lire aussi :
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interview : Svetla Tsotsorkova
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interview : Jeanette Nordahl
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interview : Antoneta Kastrati
fiche film] by Antoneta Kastrati (Kosovo/Albania), and the selection is topped off by the two films from the National Competition that are world-premiering at Bosphorus: Just Different by Ahmet Sönmez and Kodokushi by Ensar Altay.