The first month of Istanbul Film Festival, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, has come to an end. We watched the films from the festival in our homes through digital mediums like our phones, tablets, computers or TVs as they have adapted to the pandemic. Although it was far from the "festival vibes" that we all miss dearly, it was still a nice change to be able to watch and discuss the films with friends through various phone calls.
The first screenings of 20 films from different parts of the world were included within the April edition. ‘Aalto’ from Finland, ‘The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet’ from Argentina, ‘Luzzu’ from Malta, ‘180 Degrees Rule’ from Iran and ‘The Silence of the Palace’ from Tunisia are among the few brilliant movies that the festival brought us to our home. Our favorite movies in the April selection were ‘After Love’, ‘Possessor’, ‘Love Affair(s)’, ‘A Friendly Tale’, ‘In The Mirror’, ‘The Mole Agent’, and ‘Falling’. Although both ‘Possessor’ and ‘In The Mirror’ held a special place in our hearts due their stories and cinematography technique. Chilean movie ‘The Mole Agent’, which was screened in the "Documentaries" section of the festival, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards.
The nominees for this year's National Competition and National Short Film Competition have also been announced. The award ceremony which initially will be held in May, has been postponed to June due to Coronavirus restrictions. The films "Two Types of People" by Tunç Şahin, "Fractured" by Fikret Reyhan and “You Me Lenin" by Tufan Taştan are among the remarkable films from the National Competition.
Unlike April, The May edition of the festival program is split into two segments. Screenings from May 6th to 19th will include Bence Fliegauf's latest film ‘Forest - I See You Everywhere’ which won Silver Bear for Best Supporting Actor at the 71st Berlin Film Festival and Silver Bear Jury Prize winner ‘Mr.Bachmann and Class' as well as winner of the audience award in the World Cinema Documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival 2021 'Writing with Fire', Academy Award nominee from Ivory Coast 'Night of the Kings' and two films from Pedro Almodóvar 'The Human Voice' and 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'. You can view the festival program and buy tickets at film.iksv.org