The eighth edition of 12 Punto, Turkey's largest script-development and co-production platform organised by TRT, will take place in Istanbul from 12-19 July. Bringing together nearly 60 award-winning filmmakers, producers and industry professionals from 30 countries, the event once again aims to strengthen international collaboration while offering a week of master classes, panels, screenings and industry networking.

This year's international jury will be chaired by two-time Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, whose films A Separation, The Salesman and A Hero have earned major accolades at the Berlin and Cannes film festivals, while his latest work, Parallel Tales, premiered in Competition at Cannes earlier this year. He will be joined by Romanian New Wave pioneer and Cannes habitué Cristi Puiu (winner of the Un Certain Regard prize with The Death of Mr Lazarescu and selected in competition with Sieranevada), Swedish producer Erik Hemmendorff (the Palme d'Or-winning producer behind The Square and Triangle of Sadness); Tunisian-French producer Nadim Cheikhrouha (whose productions The Man Who Sold His Skin, Four Daughters and The Voice of Hind Rajab have all received Academy Award nominations); and Violeta Bava (a film-development consultant and producer, advisor to the Venice Film Festival artistic director and who has also collaborated with institutions including the Locarno Film Festival, the TorinoFilmLab and Visions du Réel).

The jury will evaluate the 12 finalist feature projects selected from 113 submissions (see the news). Following workshops dedicated to script development, marketing, pitching and production, the jury will award three TRT Co-Production Awards, three TRT Pre-Buy Awards and six TRT Project Development Awards. The winners will be announced during the Closing and Awards Ceremony on 19 July, which will also feature the presentation of the TRT International Co-Production Award.

Held at Feriye Cinema in Istanbul's Beşiktaş district, the public programme includes a series of free master classes, panels, talks and film screenings featuring internationally acclaimed filmmakers and industry experts. Participants will come from countries including France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Denmark, the UK, the USA, Argentina, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Sweden, Romania, Poland, Estonia and Turkey, among many others.

The platform will also continue its Palestinian Cinema Special Section for a third consecutive year, aiming to foster dialogue and solidarity through cinema. Among its highlights is the participation of producer Nadim Cheikhrouha. The programme will also host a special pre-release open-air screening of TRT co-production Palestine 36, directed by Annemarie Jacir, ahead of its Turkish theatrical release. Producer Ossama Bawardi and lead actor Karim Daoud Anaya will attend the screening and meet audiences.