The National Competition will be held between 17-28 April 2024 as part of the 43rd Istanbul Film Festival, a specialized competitive film festival.

The aim of the National Competition is to encourage the realisation of highly qualified films of art in Türkiye, to support the development thereof; to make sure that the qualified products of the cinema of Türkiye reach the viewers; to provide for these films to be screened for international film critics, festival directors, representatives of distributors and televisions; and thus contribute to the foreign promotion of the cinema of Türkiye.

a) The jury, upon evaluation of the films participating in the National Competition, selects the Best Film to present it with the Golden Tulip Award. The jury also gives the Special Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer, Best Editing, Best Art Direction, and Best Original Music awards.

• A monetary prize of 300,000 TL and the Golden Tulip Award are presented to the producer of the Best Film by İKSV.
• The jury bestows a Special Jury Prize in memory of Onat Kutlar. A monetary prize of 150,000 Turkish Liras is given to the producer of the selected film by Kariyo & Ababay Foundation, to be distributed ½ share to the producer and ½ share to the director of the film. The Special Jury Prize and the Golden Tulip Best Film awards cannot be given to the same film.
• The jury presents a director deemed appropriate, the Best Director Award and 75,000 Turkish Liras given by Anadolu Efes.
• In principal, the Jury evaluates leading parts for the Best Actress and Best Actor categories. The Best Actress and Best Actor thus selected are bequeathed an honorary plaque and a monetary prize of TL 25,000 each.
• A monetary prize of TL 25,000 is given to the recipient of the Best Cinematography Award by İKSV.
• A monetary prize of TL 25,000 is given to the composer of the Best Original Score by İKSV.
• A monetary prize of TL 25,000 is given to the recipient of the Best Screenplay Award by Alametholistic.
• A monetary prize of TL 25,000 is given to the recipient of the Best Art Director Award by Milliyet Sanat.
• A monetary prize of TL 25,000 is given to the recipient of the Best Editing Award by İKSV.
• Monetary awards are given to single films, and cannot be shared.

b) Debut feature-length fiction films from Türkiye featured in the festival’s International Competition and Turkish Cinema sections are eligible for the Seyfi Teoman Best Debut Film Prize. A monetary prize of TL 50,000 is given to the director of the film by Lale Kart, the loyalty programme of İKSV.
c) The directors, producers, and distributors of the winning films agree to mention the prize they are awarded in press documents and promotional materials as well as during any further distribution of the winning film (on the credit titles.)
d) The jury comprising of members of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) evaluates the films participating in the National Competition and selects the best film to give the FIPRESCI Prize.

For the films to participate in the National Competition, the following conditions are envisaged:

a) Turkish narrative fiction films realised after 1 January 2023 can participate to the Festival. For a film to be deemed “Turkish”, the director or the producer of the film must be a national of the Republic of Türkiye.
b) The films should be at least 60 minutes long, their exhibition formats need to be in DCP format.
c) Films which have won a Best Film Award at another festival within a “National Competition” in Türkiye are not eligible for the competition. Films that have been published on DVD for sale or available on VoD or streaming platforms in Türkiye are not eligible to be included in the programme.
d) Films which have participated to any other Istanbul screening event, including commercial releases, are not eligible for the National Competition.
e) Films which have not been selected upon their submissions for previous editions are not re-evaluated.

The producer(s) applies to participate in the festival as the legal owner of the film. If there is more than one legal owner, then the submission form must include the signatures of all legal owners or their written consent in attachment. The owners can apply to the festival with as many films as they wish.

In order for the films applying for the Festival to be promoted and to be included in the Festival catalogue, below documentation should be submitted until 19 January 2024, 17.00 hours, along with the submission forms through the online Eventival system at https://vp.eventival.com/iff/2024.

a) Online screener link (valid for at least 3 months)
b) Technical features and film info
c) Turkish and English synopses
d) Press book or electronic press kit
e) Film stills (high res)
f) Director’s photograph (high res)
g) Posters in digital form (3)
h) (In case the screening copy is not subtitled in English) Dialogue list for subtitle translation or English subtitle list
i) Trailer or excerpt without subtitles in 16:9 quicktime mp4 or mov formats at least 1920x1080p resolution, and a public link to the online trailer to be featured on the Festival website.

The submitter confirms the veracity of the information provided in the submission form. The director or submitter commits to refrain from withdrawing the film from the festival after the programme is announced at the festival launch press conference after they have confirmed in writing the selection of the film.

Turkish films are screened with English subtitles. If the owner of the film cannot supply an English subtitled copy of the film, the Festival will prepare electronic subtitles.

The last day for delivery of the copies of the films the participation of which in the competition are finalised is two weeks before the Festival, at the latest. The screening copies are submitted to the Festival Office at İKSV (Istanbul Foundation of Culture and Arts) or via downloadable links. The films are taken back from the same place within a week after the Festival ends. The DCP copies must be sent to the Festival in their original hardcover cases clearly labelled with the title of the film.

The films to be included in the competition are determined by the Turkish Cinema Advisory Committee and the festival directorate from among the submissions. The final judgment with respect to the inclusion of a film in the programme and its inclusion in the National Competition is entered by the festival directorate. The festival reserves the right to not disclose information regarding the selection of films.

In order for the competition to be held, at least 6 films should be eligible. If the number of films determined until 19 January 2024, the deadline for submission, does not reach six, then the competition is not held; the films which have applied are screened at the Festival out of competition.

Films to be screened for the National Competition are evaluated by a jury determined by the Turkish Cinema Advisory Committee of the Istanbul Film Festival. The jury comprises film producers, directors, screenwriters, actors, film critics, film historians, academics, and prominent people in branches of art connected to cinema, from Türkiye and abroad.

The President of the Jury is appointed by the Festival Directorate. The jury designates its own working system. Members of the jury should view the films in competition, the screening arrangement of which is determined by the Festival Directorate, within the duration of the Festival, in formal screenings in movie theatres or in private screenings, individually or collectively. The Festival Directorate keeps an observer with no voting rights at the deliberation session of the jury. The President of the Jury, before the decision is announced, submits to the Festival Directorate the minutes signed by all members.

The Festival is responsible for the insurance of the physical copies of the selected films, from the moment they are received by the Festival to the moment they are collected by the forwarding agent.

Should a copy be lost or damaged, the Festival’s responsibility could be engaged only to the extent of the value indicated by the producer on the entry form. If the entrant does not send the entry form to the Festival Office until 19 January 2024, the print will be valued by the insurance company on 1,000 US Dollars.

The festival authority reserves the right to disqualify films not meeting the technical specifications required and sufficient for public screening.

The film owners, producers, and directors of the Turkish films participating in the program of the 43rd Istanbul Film Festival are considered to have accepted the rules of these regulations.

The authority of any resolution concerning issues not explicitly established in the regulations belongs to the Istanbul Foundation of Culture and Arts (İKSV).

The festival authority reserves the right to amend the articles of this regulation.