The Istanbul Film Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), is one of the city’s most established cultural traditions. Since its beginnings in the early 1980s, it has grown into Turkey’s leading international film event, bringing together world cinema, Turkish filmmaking, and a wide urban audience each spring.
More than a festival, it functions as a cultural rhythm of Istanbul. Screenings are spread across the city, turning cinemas into shared spaces of encounter where arthouse films, restorations, documentaries, and new discoveries meet. Over the decades, it has helped introduce global auteur cinema to Turkish audiences while also supporting local filmmakers through competitions and industry platforms like Meetings on the Bridge.
The 2026 Istanbul Film Festival (45th edition) runs from 9–19 April 2026. The program includes around 127 feature films and 13 shorts, alongside gala screenings, retrospectives, and competitive sections such as the Golden Tulip Competition and New Visions.
Opening with Three Goodbyes by Isabel Coixet, the 2026 edition continues the festival’s focus on emotionally resonant, internationally oriented cinema while highlighting emerging voices and award-winning festival titles from around the world.
What remains unchanged is its essence: the Istanbul Film Festival is not only a showcase of films, but a shared cultural space where the city briefly becomes a collective screen for global storytelling. Don’t miss it!
Check it out at https://film.iksv.org/tr/program.
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