Award Winners

Winners of the 26th Izmir International Short Film Festival Announced

The 26th Izmir International Short Film Festival, an Academy Award® Qualifying event, concluded with a prestigious award ceremony held at the Izmir Architecture Center. A total of 16 awards were presented across four competition categories. Throughout the festival, the Izmir Film Lab—the festival's dedicated project development platform—continued to foster the industry by providing significant support to numerous projects from leading production companies.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the General Directorate of Cinema, the festival drew immense interest from cinephiles. With screenings hosted at the French Cultural Center, Cati Bostanlı, and Karaca Cinema, nearly 10,000 attendees experienced a diverse and immersive world of short filmmaking.

Exploring the Creative Industries

This year’s Izmir Film Lab featured a series of high-level panels organized in collaboration with the TOBB Creative Industries Council. Under headings such as "Cinema and Digital Arts in the Age of AI," "Culture, Space, and Production Ecosystems in Izmir," and "Human and City Transformed by Creativity," the panels highlighted Izmir's growing influence as a creative hub. The sessions opened with speeches by Ata Kavame (President of TOBB Creative Industries Council) and Uğur Yıldırım (President of Izmir Architecture Center), drawing record attendance.

The festival’s educational programs also saw significant engagement. Masterclasses and talks featuring renowned figures such as Amin Jafari, Serdar Özdemir, Selman Nacar, Gonca Vuslateri, and Faruk Güven provided invaluable insights and hands-on experience for aspiring filmmakers and cinema students.

26th Izmir Short Film Festival: Award Winners

Izmir Film Lab Awards

• Sustainable Production Development Award (In collaboration with Serpil Altın Film & EkoFilm): I Don't Understand Loud Voices – Erinç Durlanık, Esma Akalın / Abbas – Can Kahraman, Utku Çırak

• Fono Film Post-Production Award: I Don't Understand Loud Voices – Erinç Durlanık, Esma Akalın / Abbas – Can Kahraman, Utku Çırak

• Kiralaceko Production Support Award: Abbas – Can Kahraman, Utku Çırak

Local Projects (Izmir)

• 1st Prize: Abbas – Can Kahraman, Utku Çırak

• Honorable Mention: Do You Speak Arabic? – Ammar Hamo, Tarık Zana Arslan, Yosusef Alhawari

• Honorable Mention: A Quiet Night – Melihat Algül

National Projects

• 1st Prize: Death Star (Ölüm Yıldız) – Ezgi Temel

• Honorable Mention: Modification – Enes Ersagun Arslan, Zeynep Şolphan Ara

International Fiction Category

• Best Film: On the Way – Samir Karahoda

• 2nd Best Film: Night of Passage – Reza Rasouli

• 3rd Best Film: No Skate – Guil Sela

National Animation Category

• Best Animation: The Eyelash (Kirpik) – Doğa Kılcıoğlu

• Honorable Mention: Budu – Burcu Ejderoğlu

National Documentary Category

• Best Documentary: Wedding of the Pirs (Pirlerin Düğünü) – Yalçın Çiftçi

• Honorable Mention: Blue, Revolution, and VHS Tapes – Serdar Kökçeoğlu

National Fiction Category

• Best Film: Until Death Do Us Part (Ölüm Bizi Ayırana Dek) – Deniz Koloş

• Best Director: Rabia Özmen (The Procedure / Prosedür)

• Best Screenplay: Deniz Koloş (Until Death Do Us Part)

• Best Actress: Gülçin Kültür Şahin (Until Death Do Us Part)

• Best Cinematography: Kağan Kerimoğlu (Heavenless / Cennetsiz) & Cemal Çimen (Defne)

• Best Art Direction: Güzin Erkaymaz (Alis)

• Best Editing: Fırat Terzioğlu (Everything That Is Ours / Bizim Olan Herşey)

• Special Jury Award: The Procedure (Prosedür) – Rabia Özmen

• Honorable Mention: Ankara 1979 – Can Karayalçın