The !f İstanbul AFM International Independent Film Festival will be marking its 10th year from Feb. 17-27, which will see the fourth edition of its !f Inspired international feature film competition.
“Our Day Will Come,” the debut feature by music video director Romain Gavras (also the son of the famous director Costa Gavras); “Le Quattro Volte,” by Michelangelo Frammartino, which has already won awards at many international festivals; and Hungarian director Agnes Kocsis’ “Adrienn Pal,” about a nurse who goes on a journey to find her childhood friend, are among the eight features that will run in the competition, the festival announced in a written statement on Wednesday.
“Nuummioq,” Greenland’s first Oscar-nominated film, which tells the story of a man diagnosed with a terminal illness; acclaimed Belgian director Koen Mortier’s “22nd of May,” about the aftermath of an explosion in a shopping mall; Tobias Lindholm and Michael Noer’s feature debut, “R,” which tells of a Danish prison; and Mexican Jorge Michel Grau’s “We Are What We Are,” which redefines the genre of horror, are other entrants on the lineup.
“Atlıkarınca” (Merry-Go-Round), a bold cinematic take on a social issue, namely incest, directed by the young Turkish filmmaker İlksen Başarır, rounded out the bill.
The competition’s international jury, headed by award-winning Turkish director Hüseyin Karabey, will choose the “Most Inspired Director” based on the criteria of “bold storytelling and innovative techniques.”
The !f Inspired competition carries a $15,000 cash prize and aims make İstanbul a global center for young and innovative cinema, while bringing together key cinema professionals around a selection of films from Turkey and around the world.
The festival will have its main stint in İstanbul in February while a selection from this year’s lineup will travel to Ankara from March 2 to 6. Early bird tickets will be available Feb. 5-7 for İstanbul and Feb. 25-27 for Ankara through www.mybilet.com.
