1. Dates
The 45th Istanbul Film Festival, organised by Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts as a specialised competitive event, will take place 9-19 April 2026.
2. Official Competitions
45th Istanbul Film Festival's program comprises the below official competitions:
a) Golden Tulip Competition
b) New Visions
c) Short Film Competition
Films to be presented within these competitive sections will be evaluated by juries determined by the Festival Directorate.
3. Awards
The official festival awards to be bestowed upon the films selected by the relevant juries are listed below:
Golden Tulip Competition
- Golden Tulip (given to the best film)
- Special Jury Prize
- Best Director Award
- Best Director Award
- Best Screenplay Award
- Best Actress Award
- Best Actor Award
New Visions
- Seyfi Teoman Award (given to the best film)
- Best Screenplay
- Best Actress Award
- Best Actor Award
- Best Cinematography
- Best Editing
- Best Art Direction
- Best Original Music
Short Film Competition
- Best Short Film
4. Independent Awards
Films presented within the official selection of the 45th Istanbul Film Festival can be evaluated by independent juries determined by film associations and/or institutions. Relayed to the Festival Directorate before the disclosing of the festival programme, these juries can bestow parallel awards to selected films. These parallel awards will also be announced by the festival. The independent juries and the sections and awards they will evaluate this year are as follows:
- FIPRESCI
- Golden Tulip Competition – Best Film
- Short Film Competition – Best Short Film
- SİYAD (Film Critics Association)
- All Turkish production films in the official selection – Best Film
- DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS ASSOCIATION (BSB)
- Documentary films from Turkey in the official selection – Best Documentary
- FILM-YÖN (Directors Association of Turkey)
- Fiction films from Turkey in the New Visions section – Best Director
