25/10/2018 - The Istanbul-based gathering is bringing 88 films from around the world and Turkey, as well as honouring Sergei Loznitsa and Bent Hamer

The sixth edition of the Bosphorus International Film Festival is ready to kick off. Running from 26 October-3 November in Istanbul, the festival will bring 88 films to the city’s audience in three different theatres. Organised by the Bosphorus Cinema Association and the Istanbul Media Academy, the gathering aims to become one of the most important cinema events on both the national and international levels.

The sixth Bosphorus International Film Festival will open with David Lowery’s The Old Man & The Gun, Robert Redford’s farewell movie, the cast of which also includes Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek, Elisabeth Moss and Tom Waits.

In the competitions, and starting with the International Feature Film Competition, ten movies from nine different countries will be vying for the International Grand Prix of the sixth Bosphorus International Film Festival. The selection comprises Adam [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Maria Solrun (Germany/USA/Iceland), Bomb, A Love Story by Payman Maadi (Iran), Cold November [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ismet Sijarina
film profile] by Ismet Sijarina (Kosovo/Albania/Macedonia), Land [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Babak Jalali (Italy/France/Netherlands/Mexico), The Gentle Indifference of the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
film profile] by Adilkhan Yerzhanov (Kazakhstan/France), The Queen of Fear [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Valeria Bertuccelli and Fabiana Tiscornia (Argentina/Denmark), Suburban Birds by Sheng Qiu (China), Screwdriver by Bassam Jarbawi (Palestine/USA/Qatar), Sew the Winter to My Skin [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Jahmil XT Qubeka (South Africa/Germany) and Winter Flies [+see also:
film review
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interview: Olmo Omerzu
film profile] by Olmo Omerzu (Czech Republic/Slovenia/Poland/Slovakia).

The National Feature Competition will also showcase ten films that will be setting their sights on the Grand Prix. Among the selected titles are features that have premiered at various acclaimed international film festivals, while one of them will world-premiere at Bosphorus. In detail, the selection includes The Pillar of Salt [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Burak Çevik, Halef by Murat Düzgünoğlu, Chaos by Semir Aslanyürek, The Pigeon [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Banu Sıvacı, The Announcement [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun
film profile] by Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun, My Father’s Bones by Özkan Çelik, Debt by Vuslat Saraçoğlu, Siren’s Call by Ramin Matin, Trust by Sefa Öztürk and House of Serenity by Cafer Özgül (world premiere).

Finally, in the short-film competitions, ten fictions and eight documentaries will compete in the International Short Fiction and Documentary Competitions, respectively, while the same number of films will participate in the equivalent national sections.

Two honorary awards will be given out during this year’s Bosphorus, with acclaimed Ukrainian auteur Sergei Loznitsa receiving his at the opening ceremony, while Norwegian filmmaker Bent Hamer will be awarded on the closing night. Both directors will have special retrospectives of their latest works dedicated to them, and they will also give master classes to the festival audience.